A place to call home
by horseluvr00
Summary: 5 months after the battle of New York, 15yr old Kate Sanders was kidnapped. 8 months later, SHIELD finds her. With her family murdered, she has no where to go... But she's also protecting a dark secret. Will she find a place to call home? Will the Avengers show her again what it means to have a family? (The sequel starts on chapter 63!) Please give it a chance! -Requests are open-
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**Ok, hey everyone! :) I just wanna star out like this and say: thank you so much; everyone that has supported this story so far! :) you have no idea what it means that there are people out there that enjoy it :) I know that there will be people that might not like this story, but I do hope you give it a chance ;) I have been told that this story is amazing so I hope you may end up thinking the same!**

**this is a story about finding your place in the world and forming unbreakable bonds of family and friends :)**

**enjoy! :) **

So there I was, sitting at my desk, sketching. It was a breezy fall day, just like any other weekend during the school year. –hold that thought. Let me start again.

My name is Kate Sanders. I'm a 15 year old girl from Fredrick Maryland. Some of my hobbies include Karate, shooting; hunting, hiking, Skateboarding, and I study wild life for nature and animal reserves. I'm an absolute animal lover; my parents say I have a "connection" with them, if you know what I mean.

Oh, and I should also mention that I'm a bit... Well, how do I put this... Different. It's hard to explain, all I can say is that one day my parents sat me down and explained it all to me. It was scaring me and I remember the conversation like it was yesterday…at least I wish I was yesterday..

~0~

8 MONTHS LATER…

Agent Clint Barton walked onto the bridge of the SHIELD Helicarrier. He walked up to Director Fury.

"Sir, Coulson's got the team ready." Clint says. Fury turns to him.

"Good. Dispatch when ready." Clint gives a nod before walking off.

Coulson was taking some agents to a ware house in the heart of downtown New Jersey. They had apparently been capturing people with "abilities" and torturing them. To them they were just animals. And after the battle of New York, SHIELD wasn't going to let this continue. Several kidnappings had been reported in the area, including some in the state of Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Agent Natasha Romanoff and Captain Steve Rogers were also on this mission with him. They were going to find and detain all of those ass holes behind this operation. And also try to figure out some of these people with abilities.

Clint met up with Natasha at the black SUV.

"Looks like you're ready to go." Clint says; looking her over, seeing her in her suit. She gives a nod.

"Same with you." She says. He gives a nod. Captain Rogers walks up to meet him, dressed in plain clothes with a SHIELD jacket, and not his patriotic get up. "Looks like you ready to go." She says sarcastically. Steve shrugs.

"No need to draw unwanted attention." He says in his no-emotion tone. Coulson walks up to them.

"Alright." He begins. "Let's go."

~0~

They arrive at the location around an hour later. Everyone spills out of the cars and goes for the front door. Coulson is the first to enter. They all walk around a corner and see a lay out that looks like a bar, with TV's, couches, and so on. Several people were there, laughing and getting drunk, waving their guns around like idiots.

"Excuse me!" Coulson yells over the noise. It dies down and they all look at the intruders. "I'm with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics division. We'd like to speak with you." He begins.

"What the hells does that mean to me?" The drunken guy says. Suddenly several other guys come around the corner they were smiling and talking amongst each other when they saw the SHIELD team. They smiles fade and they looked serious. Coulson nods to the team and some agents walk toward them.

"We gotta get out of here!" One says and they run the opposite direction. Romanoff, Barton, Rogers, and Coulson are left.

"Ok, while our other agents are in pursuit, we'll scope out the area for the hostages. " They give a nod and spread out.

~0~

Coulson walked up to a door and looked inside, it was empty. The only thing in there was some old furniture and a rolled up rug. He continues to the next room, there was a body on the floor. He runs over and turns her over. Blood covered her chest and neck. Someone slit her throat. He closes the eyes and stands up, walking toward the door.

"Coulson." His com beeped.

"What is it Rogers." He responds.

"I think I found one." Coulson puts his com away and heads to the location.

…

Coulson walks up to Captain Rogers, who was kneeling down and looking at something in the corner of a room. Coulson sees the door broke at the hinges. _I guess that's one way to get in_. Coulson thought. Steve turns to him.

"She won't come out." He says. Coulson looks up seeing a girl huddled in the corner. She was skinny and her clothes were almost rags. His shirt was a flannel, one sleeve was gone and it didn't cover most of her stomach. She wore jeans that were ripped up and dirty. He brown hair was matted with what looked like blood and her arm and face had blood on them too. Coulson looked at Steve who just shrugged.

"Miss?" Coulson spoke up. "I'm with SHIELD, were here to help." He pulls out a water bottle from his bag and walks forward.

She shrinks into the corner more and Coulson sets the water bottle down gently in front of her. Agent Barton and Agent Romanoff come around the corner. The girl's eyes go wide as the number of people in the room grows. She tries to get as small as possible.

"Coulson, we found some others. We already have them ready to go." Natasha said. She glances at the girl before looking at Coulson.

"Alright." He turns to Captain Rogers. "Just keep her company til we get back. Try to get her out if you can." He nods and Coulson follows Romanoff and Barton out.

~0~

I don't know how long I've been here. The days started blending together quickly. I do not remember much else. Only the pain and the torture. But something was different today. These people showed up I haven't seen before. I'm scared. They haven't hurt me yet. But I can't trust them. I can't trust anyone after what they did to me.

Right now there was a man kneeling down in front of me, urging me to come out of my corner. I want to. But I can't. What if they tried to hurt me? They set a bottle of water down in front of me. I haven't had water in days. My throat was on fire as I stare at the water. I want it really bad. But if I show any signs of wanting it, they might hurt me again.

I know I will die here. But if these people are really telling the truth, and they want to help…maybe, just maybe…I'll live to see my parents again.

"Please come out." He says. I gulp eyeing him, and then the water. He looks at the water. He comes a little closer and I cringe; looking at the floor. "I'm uh; Captain Rogers but you can call me Steve." He says. He stops and looks at me before pushing the water closer to me. "It's ok, take it." He says. I look at it. What if it was poisoned like last time? Or it was just salt water to make my burn for a sip of fresh, clean water? But if it was really clean… "Here." He picks it up and takes a small sip. "It's clean, you can drink it." He puts it down in front of me.

Aw, hell. Now I really want the water. I thought. I swallow, and scoot an inch closer and don't take my eyes off him as I put out a shaky hand and take the water. After taking off the cap, I take a small sip.

Holy. Crap. I thought. I must have died and gone to heaven. I chug the rest and see pity in his eyes as I finish it and place it in front of me.

~0~

Coulson walks up to the door, he was about to enter when he sees the girl was out of the corner and looked less scared. He stops to watch.

"I promise, no one will hurt you." Steve says. Coulson eyes the girl, she looks at him and she immediately scoots back into the corner. Steve stands up and turns around, seeing Coulson.

"It's ok, he's a friend." He says turning back to her. She had her eyes on Coulson. Steve turns back.

"We need to head out soon." Coulson said. "If we can't get her out willingly, then we'll need to sedate her." Steve looks at her than Coulson.

"You sedate that kid and she'll never trust anyone!" He whispers to him. Coulson huffs.

"I don't like it any more than you do but the building will be self-destructing in fifteen minutes, so you better hurry up if you think you can get through to her." He gives a nod and Coulson walks into the room.

"Miss, this building it about to self-destruct. If you don't come with us now we can't guarantee your safety." Coulson says. The girl swallows and looks at the floor, then the wall. Steve puts a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll take it from here." He said.

"You sure?" He asked. Steve nodded and knelt back down and Coulson went for the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He said and left. Steve watches him go.

"You should get out of here." She suddenly says. Steve's head twists around to face her. _Wow, she actually spoke._ He thought. Her voice was hoarse and scratchy.

"Yeah well, you should too." He says. She shakes her head. "Come on." He says in a playful tone. "A girl your age has a whole life ahead of her. Why would you throw that away?" He says. A very small smile appears on her face. She doesn't respond.

They sit in silence for a few minutes while Steve is trying to figure out what to say.

"Please come with us." He says. "You won't regret it." He tries to convince her. Coulson walks in.

"Time to go."

~0~

"You won't regret it." The guy Steve says. Another guy walks in and I look up.

"Time to go." He said. Steve nodded and turned to me. I look around. Did I really want to die in this hell hole?

I hesitantly look at him before inching a bit closer and pushing myself to my feet. They both smile as I take a step forward. I stumble, feeling pain in my ankle. Steve catches my arm and I flinch away. He gives me another pitiful look before I follow the other guy out with Steve following.

~0~

Coulson walks onto the bridge of the Helicarrier. He walks up to Director Fury.

"We found them all sir, they being cleaned up and detained." He reports. Fury turns to him.

"All of them?" He asks. Coulson nodded. "Did all of them have abilities?" Coulson nods, and then is hesitant.

"All accept one; we can't seem to get through to one enough to find out. She is completely erased from all files, it's like she never existed." Coulson says.

"Well figure it out then. We need to know if these people pose a threat to anyone." He made clear. Coulson gives a nod then walks off.

~0~

They had put me in a steel room. There was a small twin bed in the corner and a small bathroom as well. They gave me some clothing and some soap to clean up.

I don't know what I'm doing here. I can't trust anyone! Not after everything that's happened… If they tried to use my ability for bad, I just couldn't let that happen. I do want to trust them, but I can't give in just yet.

They gave me a jacket with their symbol on it and some black cargo pants and combat boots; I guess that's all they had. After freaking out in the shower I came out and towel dried my hair and sat on the bed. I haven't taken an actual shower in like forever.

I can't go to sleep; if I do they might hurt me. Like the other people. But I can't help but slowly drift off into a dreamless sleep.

~0~

Coulson met up with Romanoff, Barton, and Captain Rogers in the hall.

"How is she?" Steve asked. Coulson sighs.

"She's scared. She won't eat any of the food we leave and half the time she won't sleep, either from nightmares or she's just plane scared and won't let her guard down." Coulson says.

"Is she showing any signs of injury?" Natasha spoke up.

"She'll be heading to medical soon; we'll have to sedate her." He glances at Steve who didn't look thrilled.

"Did you find a name or _anything_ for that matter?" Clint asked. Coulson shook his head.

"These people really didn't want her to be found." A doctor walks up.

"We're ready for her." He says. Coulson nods to the door and they go in, along with a big a needle to sedate her.

Steve looks at Coulson, disapproving. Coulson sighed and followed the doctors with the girl on a stretcher.

~0~

I woke up to dim lighting. I was sore and felt a bit weak. I slowly sit up and rub my head. What the hell had just happened? I thought. I remember just sleeping-feeling pain in my arm- then sleeping again and waking up.

What I didn't realize was that someone had entered the room. I scurry into the corner at the front of the bed.

I did recognize this person though. The guy Captain Rogers from the ware house. He had something in his hand and I wanted to know what it was. Was it pepper spray? A Taser!? I thought.

"Brought you something." He says walking forward. He holds out a lollipop. I let out a breath. Thank the lord. I thought. "It's uh- all they had in the cafeteria that didn't look like it was from another planet." He says with a smile. I let out a very small laugh.

He tossed it to me and I catch it clumsily. It was surprisingly one of my favorite flavors. Watermelon. I slowly take the rapper off it and inspect it, looking for and kind of poison or something. He laughs.

"It's not poisoned." He says playfully. I give a nervous smile before I put it in my mouth.

Once again, Holy. Crap. I haven't tasted anything this good in such a long time! I take my time enjoying the sugary goodness.

"What's your name?" He asks after clearing his throat. I stop, looking at him, then the floor. I hesitate.

"K-Kate." I say nervously. "Sanders." I finish. He nods.

"And uh, who old are you?" I swallow.

"Fifteen." I say. I knew I was giving away too much information, but something told me I could trust him with it.

"Ok, well. I'll give the info to Coulson and if we find anything we see about getting in contact with your parents." He gives a small smile before getting up and leaving. I smile and put the lollipop back in my mouth.

_Maybe they aren't so bad after all._ I thought. _I can't wait to see my parents!_

~0~

Captain Rogers walks up to Coulson, Agent Romanoff, and Agent Barton.

"Her name is Kate Sanders, and she's 15." He begins. Coulson turned to him.

"You got her to talk?" Natasha asked. He nodded. Clint laughs.

"Yeah, by bribing her with candy." He chuckles.

"Well was I supposed to bring her a plate of vegetables?" He jokes. Natasha rolls her eyes.

"Did you find anything else out?" Coulson demanded. He shook his head.

"I wasn't going to overwhelm her with questions, Coulson." He makes clear. Coulson huffs.

"Well Fury's growing impatient and we need to contact her parents." Coulson said. They all nod. "You said Kate Sanders?" Coulson said. Steve nodded. "Alright. I see what I can get on her parents. In the meantime, leave her be until I say otherwise." They all nod.

~0~

Coulson walks up to Director Fury.

"Sir, we found out some information on the girl." Fury presses a few buttons on the control and looks at him.

"Did you find her parents?" He asked. Coulson face was grim.

"They were killed shortly after our departure from the ware house. Someone must really be taking this seriously in order to kill off her connections." Coulson said. Fury sighed.

"They always are." He said.

"Where should we send her?" He asks. Fury looked out the window.

"Find out what her power is, if she has one. Then we'll determine what to do with her."

"With all due respect sir, I highly doubt she's a threat. She just endured a very dramatic experience, she can barely stand right now as it is." Coulson said; slightly defending her. Fury gives him a look.

"And will all due respect agent, my job is to insure the safety of the whole population, not just one messed up kid." He mocks. "Dismissed." Coulson gives a nod and walks away.

~0~

Coulson passes Captain Rogers in the hallway.

"Did you find anything out?" He asked. Coulson nods.

"Her parents and other close family are dead." Coulson said. Steve hesitates before nodding.

"What are we gonna do." He asked.

Coulson sighs and shrugs.

"Honestly, once Fury finds out her power and declares whether or not she's dangerous she'll be dumped out on the streets or sent to the sandbox." Coulson said. Steve huffs.

"Are you gonna tell her?" He asked. Coulson gives him a look. "You can't be serious." He said realizing his plan.

"I am. She knows you the most and trusts you more than any of us right now; I think she'd take it better from you." Coulson said. He sighed before giving a nod.

"You want me to tell her now." He said. Coulson nodded.

"The sooner she knows the better."

~0~

I hear a door open and open my eyes to see Captain Rogers walk in. I sit up and sit on the edge of my bed instead of the corner against the wall.

He didn't look happy. My small smile disappears and I think I know what he's about to say.

"Um, Kate?" He began, pulling a chair up. I swallow. "I have some bad news...your parents are gone." He says slowly.

I knew it.

My eyes water a bit, but I hold them back.

"I know." I said quietly. He furrows his eyebrows. "B-Back at the ware house, they would threaten me." I said. "They would tell me…they'd kill my family if I tried to escape or disobey them." I said, my lip quivering.

I wipe a single tear away and continue. "I knew they weren't lying...It happened to one girl already at the time, she would stand up to them... She's dead." I say, remembering the moment.

"She meant a lot to you." He could tell.

"Yeah." I hesitate before saying so. "They beat her to death. I was lucky enough to survive that day." I say. I look away and try to think happier thoughts.

"I'm sorry." He says. I smile and wipe away another tear.

"Don't be. If I wasn't where I was that day none of this would have happened. It was my fault from the beginning." I say, and then I stop. I'm getting ahead of myself here. I thought. I'm getting way to comfortable way to fast. I pull myself farther onto my bed and lean against the wall.

"Hey, that was not your fault." He made clear. I don't respond and hug my knees.

He gets up and walks for the door.

"I'll check in on you later." He says. I nod and he leaves. As soon as the door closes I can't hold in my tears any longer as they start to trickle down my face.

~0~

Coulson meets Rogers outside the door.

"Well?" He asked. Steve sighs.

"She kinda knew." Coulson raised an eyebrow. "She said that the people holding her were threatening to kill her parents if she tried anything." He said. Coulson nodded.

"Alright, we'll that's one less thing to worry about. If she's given the all clear when we don out her ability, I've been looking into some foster homes-"

"Are you sure that's the best thing for her right now?" He questions. Coulson gives him a look.

"Don't get attached." He says.

"I'm not getting attach-"

"Yes you are. When she's ready, we'll have to find her a foster home til she can find a family." Coulson says.

"How would you define ready for her?" He asked. Coulson was running out of ideas.

"What are you suggesting?" He asked. Steve shrugs.

"That she stays here..." Coulson narrows his eyes.

"Until she's fully ready and confident that she can be on her own." He adds.

"What makes you think she's not?" He demands.

"She won't trust anyone." He says.

"Except you." Coulson states.

"...that's different." He says. "I was probably the first nicer person she's seen in months." He says. Coulson smirks.

"She's not a puppy, Rogers. You'll need to get over it when she's gone." He turns to walk away.

"I'm not getting attached Coulson!" He raises his voice a bit. "I just care about it more than you." He said. Coulson gives a nod.

"If you say so." He says, and then walks off. He is left standing there.

~0~

At stark tower...

Natasha and Clint had gone back to the tower. Pepper greets them at the door.

"Hey!" She says. She gives Natasha a small hug along with Clint. "How was the mission?"

"It was ok, a success I would say." Natasha says; grabbing a soda from the fridge.

"Is Steve with you?" She asked, looking around.

"No, he's still on the carrier with his little friend." Clint smirks. Natasha punches his shoulder "Ow!" He hissed.

"What friend?" Pepper asked.

"There were some kids, at the ware house. They were tortured and some of them killed. He's been able to get through to the last one we have yet to find a family for." Natasha says.

"He's getting attached." Clint says with a grin. Natasha elbows his ribs. "Ow." He laughs. She rolls her eyes.

"You said she _didn't_ have a family?" Pepper asked. Natasha shook her head.

"Coulson looked at some disturbances in the past 72 hours; her parents were killed last night along with close family." Natasha said. "Coulson's been trying to find a foster home til we find out her ability".

"That's horrible." Pepper says. Natasha nodded. Then her face brightened. "She could stay here!" Pepper says. "Right Tony?!" She yells to Tony who was sitting on the couch fixing something as usual.

"What?" He asked after like a minute. She rolls her eyes.

"You know, until you find a home for her she could have one of the guest rooms." Pepper offers. Natasha sighs.

"I don't know Pepper..." She starts.

"Tell Nick, that she can. The offers open." Pepper says before getting back to cooking. Natasha just gives a nod and walks over to the couches and sits. She pulls out her phone.

~0~

Coulson was on his way to the bridge when his phone rang. He pulled it out. It was Natasha.

"Romanoff?" He starts.

"Hi Coulson. I told Pepper about the girl." She says.

"And?"

"She says she can stay at Stark Tower til everything's sorted out. It could help with her people skills I'll give it that. If she can survive Stark she can survive anything." Coulson smirks.

"I don't know. If she gets too attached to you all, it will be hard to send her away." Coulson says.

"Don't worry Coulson, we won't get attached. Just tell Fury."

"I'll talk it over with him." He hangs up and walks toward the bridge.

~0~

I was sitting on my bed, trying to think about my options. I knew the most obvious thing was they would put me into foster care. I can't deal with that. Needing to impress people so they'll take me home and give me a life? No thanks.

Maybe I could figure out something and just get a job, find an apartment. I can shoot, and fight pretty well. I'm a bit rusty. But it's not something you forget.

Maybe I could teach shooting or fighting lessons!

I'm taken out of thought when the door opens. I look up and see the guy called Coulson.

"Ms. Sanders, we've located a place for you to stay in the meantime." I give a small nod. "If you'll follow me, we'd like to get you ready." I hesitate.

Do I go with him? My breath gets quicker. I'm very nervous, Captain Rogers said he was a friend but can I take his word for it? He hasn't given a reason NOT to trust him yet though.

Making up my mind, I slowly get up and follow him out.

~0~

Steve walks into the communal floor of the tower. Pepper walks up to him.

"So when is she coming?" She asked. Steve raises an eyebrow.

"The girl, Kate!" She says.

Steve's eyebrows shoot up. "Wait,-" Natasha walks up.

"Coulson pulled some strings with Fury. She'll be staying here in the meantime." Steve hesitates before saying something. Clint comes up next to him.

"Be happy Cap, your little friend's gonna visit!" He jokes. Steve shoves him and looks at Pepper.

"When was this decided?" He asked.

"I think it was after you left the carrier." She said. He nods.

Pepper walks up to Natasha.

"Does she have anything clothing wise?" Pepper asked. Natasha shook her head.

"As of right now she doesn't own anything really." Pepper nodded.

"Here, why don't you come with me to get her some clothes?" Natasha gives her a look. "It'll be fun! Come on."

"Why do I need to go?" She asks in a pissed off tone. Pepper gives her a face.

"One, I don't know what she likes, and two I don't know what size she is." Natasha sighs.

"She's around my size a little taller though and she looks more tomboy." Natasha tries to sum up. Pepper nods.

"I know just the place!" She says excitedly.

A few hours later...

Pepper and Natasha had gone to 3 different stores and got a few outfits. Natasha made sure she had something comfortable, while Pepper picked out some outfits that were more fashionable.

~0~

The SUV pulled up at Stark Tower. I could see the front door.

Was I ready for this? Moving into Stark Tower?! I was an absolute fan of the avengers before everything happened to me. So living in Tony Stark's huge tower was just plain crazy.

I was so scared. _I'm really going to mess this up._ I thought. I'm going to drive everyone crazy. No to mention I hate when people pity, or try to help me. Even before it happened, my trust issues needed attending. My parents use to talk to me about it...I never listened...

Coulson opens the door and I look outside wide eyed. It was noisy and loud. Cars were everywhere same with people. _This was New York though._ I thought.

"Ms. Sanders?" Coulson grabs my attention and I cautiously get out of the car and look around. It was big, and different. I had never been to the city before, and I felt more vulnerable than ever now.

I follow Coulson to the elevator. He typed in a code and pushes a button. We begin to go up. I stare at the wall nervously. I didn't see Coulson eyeing me.

"Don't worry." He says. "As long as you just be yourself, you'll fit in just fine." He tells me. I swallow and nod. The elevator dings as we stop. I let out a shaky breath. _Here we go._ I thought.

It opens and I look around in shock. It was awesome! We step inside. A woman with ginger hair came up to me; I take a small step back.

"Hi Kate! Welcome, I'm Pepper." She says with a smile. I gave a small smile, but still remain closed off.

"She's a little shy." Coulson whispers. She nods.

Two other people enter the room; I recognized them as Natasha and Clint.

Natasha gives me a small smile and Clint smiles and sits on a stole.

"Well, I have a room for you ready if you want to see it." Pepper says. I look at Coulson who nods. I turn to Pepper and follow her.

...

Coulson walks up to Natasha and Clint.

"Report if you find anything out regarding her ability." He said. They nod and he heads for the elevator.

...

I follow Pepper into a room. She opens the door and a gasp escapes my mouth. It was amazing. There was a beautiful queen size bed with a forest green and brown comforter. And the walls were a cream white. There was a desk that matched the bed set and a dresser and night stand.

"I know it's not much but, it should do for now." Pepper said. I wanted to say otherwise. This was incredible. "There's a bathroom to." Pepper says. I follow her. It was also pretty neat- for a bathroom anyway.

There was a sink and an awesome mirror that matched the bed set. There was a little privacy for the toilet and there was a tub next to the shower in the corner of the room, two brown rugs were on the floor.

"T-Thank you." I say, still awestruck. Pepper puts a hand on my shoulder.

"It's the least we could do. Now, if you want to get cleaned up, there are all sorts of hair products and soap in the cupboards under the sink and clothes in the closet." She says. I nod and she leaves the room.

Alright, she's gone. I walk back into the room and look around. This was too much. I'm not used to all of this.

I walk over to the closet and open the two doors, a few different outfits were hung up and there was a skate board on the floor in the corner there was a tag on it with a bow. It said:

From Natasha and Clint

I smiled and look through all the outfits. Some of them said army on them. Thoughts of my brother started going through my head and I felt tears come to my eyes thinking about him. I push the thoughts away and I go over to the desk and look out the window in front of it. I open the drawls seeing all sorts of pens and pencils with other supplies. I looked for some plain paper when I opened the last draw and see a sketch book with a note on it. I pick it up and read it.

From Steve.

I smile and take the sticky note off it and open it up, I begin to sketch. As I sketch, I take a moment to stop and look out the window. Then the thought hit me. _I was living with the avengers._

**So there's the first chapter everyone! I hope you enjoyed it, please review. I love knowing what you all think! I hope you all continue to read this story and give it a chance! It does get better i promise! Anyway, by for now!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two! I am so happy that I got reviews! I will try to fulfill your requests if you have any. Please enjoy this chap and review!**

Pepper was making dinner when Steve walks in.

"Where were you?" She asked. He shrugged before responding.

"Running." He walks over and grabs water from the fridge.

"Well you missed Kate arriving." She says.

"She doesn't need an audience." Pepper hands him a plate. Clint walks over and grabs two plates, handing one to Natasha.

"Pepper, has Kate eaten yet?" Natasha says.

"Um, no she hasn't. Steve could you take this plate to her?" Pepper holds out a plate. He nods; setting his down and taking hers to the elevator.

~0~

Steve walks up to the door and knocks. A second later it opens and Kate looks up. She gives a small smile.

"Pepper's orders." He says, handing her the plate of food.

"Thanks." She says, taking it.

"No problem." He says. She walks over to her desk and sits back down; he walks in and looks around.

"Hey, thanks for the uh, sketch book." She says hesitantly. He smiles.

"You're welcome; it'll give you something to do." He says. She smiles, nodding. She takes a bite of the fish and stops, staring at it.

"Wow. That's good." She says. He chuckles.

"You had fish before?" He said. She nods.

"Yes, but not for a long time. My mom use to prepare the best fish..." She says; her smile goes away for a second. The sit in silence for a minute.

"Well, I'll let you finish." He says. She nods and he walks out; closing the door behind him.

~0~

The next morning, I woke up from the best sleep I had this year. I flinch when I don't recognize where I am, then it starts coming back. I look up and see a beautiful view of the city.

I sit up and rub my eyes. Yawning I scoot out of bed and walk toward the bathroom.

"Good morning Ms. Sanders, I hope you are well rested." A voice says. I jump at the sudden voice and look around me. _Where the hell did that come from?_ I thought. "I do not think you will find me in the room Ms. Sanders." I remember Coulson saying something about this.

Some kind of AI called Jarvis.

"Um, good morning Jarvis." I say; then head to the bathroom.

After taking 15 minutes to decide on what soap I wanted to use, I took a long shower.

I come out of the bathroom in a forest green robe. I go to the closet to pick out an outfit.

~0~

On the communal floor, everyone, excluding Tony and Bruce who were still in the lab, was eating breakfast.

"Has anyone seen Kate this morning?" Clint asked. Pepper shook her head.

"Jarvis said she was up a while ago..." Pepper says. Just then the elevator door dings and Kate hesitantly walks out. Pepper smiles.

"Good morning, Kate. Did you sleep well?" She says from the kitchen. Kate smiles.

"Yes, thank you." She walks into the kitchen. Pepper looks her over seeing her wearing one of the new outfits.

She had on black ripped skinny jeans, a black shirt that said army, with a tan jacket over it with black combat boots.

"Oh my god Kate! That looks so good on you." Pepper says looking her over. Kate smiles.

"Thanks." She says with a laugh. Pepper handed her a plate and she got some food before sitting down. Clint and Natasha smile, and Kate returns the smile. Steve smiles too.

Suddenly the elevator door dings and someone comes out, Doctor Banner. Coulson had given her all the files of the people she was staying with.

"Bruce! Come meet our new guest." Pepper says. She gets out of the chair and gives a very small smile.

"Hi, uh- I'm Kate." She says, trying to stay confident. He holds out his hand and she shakes it.

"Oh yeah, hi. Pepper said you'd be coming." She gives a nod. The elevator dings again. "Oh, and I apologize in advance for anything Tony might, and probably will say." He says. She nods and smiles, sitting back down.

Tony walks out a second later and gives me a strange look.

"Ok…who's the kid and why is she here?" He asked. She chuckles.

"Tony, this is Kate REMEMBER?" She says rolling her eyes. He narrows his eyes, and then clasped his hands together; remembering.

"Oh, yeah. Hey kid." He says walking over and sitting down next to Pepper; she gives a small wave and a smirk.

~0~

After breakfast, I walked up to Natasha. She turns, giving a small smile.

"…uh, hi. Uma I-, I was wondering, if I could use the gym?" I asked, stuttering along the way. She lets out a chuckle.

"Sure, here; I show you where it is." I smile and follow her to the elevator.

We walk out of the elevator and into a very large room. _Now __**this**__ is a gym. _I thought. I follow Natasha inside.

"Well, here it is." I was awestruck, looking around at everything. There were punching bags, all sorts of training courses, everything you could possibly think of. We walk over to some training mats. "Alright, show me what ya got." Natasha challenges. I raise an eyebrow.

"Wait-…are you serious?" I asked. She nodded; a slightly mischievous grin on her face. _The Black Widow wants to see me fight. _I thought, my mind goes blank. _What the hell?! She'll kill me! _I thought. I sighed. Getting into a fighting stance. She gets into a fighting stance.

_Here we go. _I thought.

I make the first move, doing a round kick toward her head, realizing my mistake to slow. She goes down, pushing my leg up and I lose my balance. I fall back, landing on my back. She throws a fist at me and I roll to the right, and then jump back up. I twirl around seeing she turned. I block a punch and put my arm up, blocking my face as she sends a kick toward my face.

I feel her kick my feet out from under me as I hit the floor with a thud. I stare up at her for a spilt second before grinning and rolling to the left, I run at the wall, hearing her steps close behind me.

I jump forward putting my left foot on the wall then push off with my right foot, I back flip over her and land behind her. I stick the landing and put my fists up, ready to fight. She turns; a shocked look on her face. I let my guard down for a split second and she grins. Using her left foot to push my right foot out, she uses her arms and flips me over. I land on the ground with a thud and I groan. I stare up at her. She was grinning.

"You're pretty good." She says. I roll my eyes.

"That was nothing compared to what you can do." She slowly shakes her head with a small smile. She holds out a hand and helps me up.

"That move you did on the wall…where did you learn how to do that?" She asked. I raised my eyebrows.

"Oh that? My instructor taught me." I say. _Did I seriously know a move that the Black Widow didn't know?! _I thought. She nods.

"I can't believe I am saying this." She says more to herself. "I have never learned that." She says. I let out a breath.

"Whoa." I whisper. She laughs.

"Here, how bout this. You show me that move, and I'll train with you." I stop and my mouth drops. _Is she freaking serious!? _I don't know what to say.

"I-I, u-uh…"I stutter. She chuckles. "T-Thank you…!?" I say excitedly. She smiles.

"Don't mention it." We started walking toward the elevator.

~0~

After taking a walk in the park with Pepper, and going shopping I walk into my room and sit at my desk. I pull out my journal. Pepper got me a journal to write in, she said and I quote, "It could help you express your feelings!" I had chuckled; Pepper was a really nice person. Sometimes I think too nice. I feel bad that she's giving me all this stuff and I barely even know her! Take about acts of kindness. So, I think what I'm gonna do is log my days here at Stark Tower. I already wrote for Day 1. Now let's get one thing straight, I'm not gonna be writing about my crush and my worst ay ever and all that crap. Whatever you think, it is **not** a dairy!

I pick out my favorite blue pen and begin to write.

_Day 2_

_Today was pretty interesting. I met Tony Stark and Bruce Banner! Tony was just as I expected, a big kid. And Dr. Banner was smart-looking…- if you know what I mean…. Anyway, I got a wonderful breakfast and got to eat with everyone. Then I got to go shopping with Pepper! I got some really cool stuff and we got to take a walk in the park as well, my first time as a matter a fact. After that, Natasha showed me the gym. Oh. My. God. I was awesome. Everything you can think of was there. And even better, I got to fight with her! Not to mention I knew a move she didn't know! *sigh* and you wouldn't believe what she told me next. She wants me to show her the move I learned AND she wasn't to train with me! Oh my god, this day couldn't get better! _

I am taken out of my thoughts when someone knocks on the door, I turn and walk over. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear as I open it. I see Clint standing there. He had a mischievous grin. _Oh boy. _I thought.

"Hey, I need your help." He says, looking up and down the hallway like someone was coming. I raise an eyebrow.

"What would I be helping you with exactly?" I say. He smirks, and then pulls a roll of toilet paper out from behind his back. I grin, knowing his plan and follow him down the hallway.

~0~

Tony and Bruce walk into the lab, the lights were off. Then they turn on and they both stop. All they could see was toilet paper! Everything was covered. The suits, the counters, even Dum-E was rapped from base to top in paper. Bruce huffed. Tony looked around.

"Alright feathers, get your ass out here, now!" Tony says. Bruce chuckles; he could tell Tony thought it was a well-played prank.

…

Me and Clint were on the communal floor, quietly laughing while watching the cameras in the lab on Clint's SHIELD laptop. Pepper peeks over the couch; seeing what we were doing. We turn and immediately close the laptop. She raises an eyebrow.

"What are you two up to?" She says. I giggle.

"Nothing." Clint goes into a thinking position.

"What answer do you want?" Clint says. Pepper gives us a look before turning, hearing the elevator door open. It was Tony! He glares in our direction.

"There you are bird brain! You are so in for it…" He says. Clint pushes me off the couch and we take off toward the stairs. Pepper chuckles. Tony watches us go. "She's in on it!?" He asked in a whiny tone. Pepper nodded, smiling. "Traitor!" He whispers.

~0~

After ensuring our safety from Tony's wrath, I went back upstairs to my room. I wrote what happened with the prank in my journal and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

I come out a few minutes later, wearing a tank and some shorts. I crawl into bed and smile; staring at the ceiling. _Best. Day. Ever. _I thought. I adjust myself and close my eyes; drifting off to sleep.

~0~

**THE NEXT DAY...**

Coulson walks onto the bridge and up to Director Fury.

"Agent Coulson." Fury greets.

"Sir." Coulson says; putting his hands behind his back.

"How far have you gotten on the girl?" He asked.

"Well, she's more confident now. But we still haven't figured out her ability." Coulson said.

"We need to hurry this up; we have other oppressing matters without this kid being a potential threat." Fury makes clear. Coulson just gives a small nod.

"What do you suggest?" Coulson asked.

"We need to gain her trust. If she's not gonna make a move, then we need to make ours. If she was one of the last people alive there and the most heavily guarded, them that means she might have more power than we realize."

"Will do sir." Coulson replied; looking at the ground before looking back up at him.

"Dismissed." Fury ended the conversation and Coulson gave another nod before walking out the door.

~0~

**A COUPLE MINUTES LATER….**

Steve was jogging when his phone beeps. He stops and pulls it out.

"Coulson?" He begins; his breathing heavy.

"Rogers, I have orders from Director Fury." He says. "We need to speed the process up. We need to find out if this kid has some kind of ability." He says.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" He asked.

"Gain her trust. We need intel from her and Fury's growing inpatient." Steve stands there for a minute.

"So once we have the Intel; we'll just dump her on the streets to fend for herself" He sums up. Coulson huffs on the other end of the phone.

"Stop making a big deal out of this Rogers, she'll be put into foster care. And I already informed Romanoff and Barton. Get it done." Steve clenched his jaw in annoyance before he hangs up. Steve puts his phone away before he continued his jog.

~0~

Steve walked onto the communal floor; Pepper was sitting on the couch watching the news, still in business clothes.

Natasha and Clint were sitting at the bar stools and Tony was tinkering with something at the bar as well. He walks over the Natasha and Clint.

"Hey, get Fury's orders?" Clint asked. He nodded.

"Yeah." He sits down.

"Boy, you sound pissed." Clint states with a smirk. He shrugs.

"Never been a fan of throwing kids out onto the streets" Steve replies.

"As much as I like her, we have to follow orders." Natasha makes clear.

"Did Coulson say where there sending her after?" Clint asked.

"Foster care." Steve says.

"We'll shoot. That'll be a nightmare, I should know." He says taking a sip of his beer.

"So nothin on the ability yet." Tony speaks up.

"Nope." Clint says popping the p.

"What do you think it is?" He asked, turning something; it makes a noise as he continues.

"Don't know." Steve says. Pepper walks over.

"What you all talking about?" She asked.

"Putting Kate in Foster Care, and what her ability is." Clint says. Pepper's smile goes to a confused face.

"So after they find out her ability... they're sending her to a foster home?" Pepper said. They nod.

"Fury's orders" Natasha says. Just then the elevator door beeps and Kate walks out. Everyone turns around and looks at her. She gives a nervous smile she sees everyone looking at her.

"Did I miss something?" She says slowly.

"Nah, kid. Just talking about stuff." Clint says. She grins.

"Oh yeah? What kinda stuff." She says; walking in and sitting on one of the stools.

The adults look at each other. Her smile goes away. Pepper turns to her and smiles.

"Don't worry about it, here give me a hand with dinner?" She says, putting a gentle hand on her back, they walk toward the kitchen.

Steve, Natasha, and Clint exchange a glance; looking a bit guilty before Steve stood up and left the room in a mood. Natasha and Clint went back to talking about their mission; occasionally sipping their drinks.

**Now, I don't know if anyone noticed but I will be putting in a friendly relationship between Natasha and Kate. So review if there are any other requests or comments. I love hearing from you all!**

**NEW ANNOUNCEMENT- For those of you who went back and read this chapter i added some revisions onto it :) I hope you liked them!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Here's chapter three everyone! I'm glad a got another review! You have no idea how happy they make me; I'm a fairly new writer so getting feedback means a lot to me. Enjoy!**

I had been at the tower for almost two weeks now. I've really gotten to know everyone! I help Bruce in the lab sometimes and watch Tony test his suits when they're not blowing up. I've been sparring with Natasha a lot too and sometimes with Clint if she's on missions. I can't believe how much we actually have in common. At first she seemed very intimidating; but once you really get to know her, she's awesome!

I pulled on my sneakers and walked toward the elevator. I had started jogging in the mornings; it really helps to clear my head. No one knows about me going out to run in the morning and I want to keep it that way. If they start to worry than it will become a lot harder to get out.

I was wearing some shorts and a tank top; my brown hair tied in a ponytail. I wait for the door to open and walk out into the lobby. The sun was barely up yet and even then, it was loud and noisy. _As usual. _I thought.

I walked a few blocks before getting to the park and starting my routine.

~0~

Pepper was up early to get ready for work. She met Natasha and Clint on the communal floor. Natasha was sipping her coffee while Clint was reading something on his phone.

"Morning." Natasha says as Pepper entered. She smiles.

"Good morning." She says; walking over to the coffee pot at a fast pace. She grabs a coffee mug and gets her purse. "I'll be back around 6 tonight, ok?" She says. They nod and she walks out the door.

~0~

**An hour later…**

I jogged around a few trees and slowed down by a bench. Sitting down; I pull out my water bottle that I hadn't opened yet. I take the cap off and take a small sip. Looking around as I drink it, I see a few people walking around or jogging. I take a moment to look at my surroundings, despite the smelly city, the park wasn't half bad.

I still couldn't believe that I was living with the avengers. _I must be the luckiest kid alive._ I thought. Then thoughts of my parents and brother came back to me. I quickly take my mind off it and then throw away my empty water bottle and get up; turning in time to jump out of the way of someone running by.

"Oh! - Sorry, ma'am I didn't se-"I turn and see Steve. His eyebrows shot up. "K-Kate!?" He said. My eyes widened.

"Steve!? Wait- wha-"

"What are you doing out here?" He asked, cutting me off slightly. I blink several times before getting my voice.

"Uh-r-running, or-Jogging! - …jogging." I stutter like an idiot. "You?" He swallows, and blinks.

"Same, uh, how long have you been out here?" I shrug.

"I don't know, maybe an hour or so…" I scratch the back of my head.

"Does anyone know you're out here?" He asked. I stop, and swallow. He raised an eyebrow.

"Funny, you should ask…" I laugh. "I uh…well; I've been going out in the morning for the last week or so, I haven't told anyone." I said. He hesitated before nodding. I furrow my eyebrows. "…You're not mad…?"He smirks.

"No, you want me to be?"

"Well no." I laughed. There was a moment of silence.

"How much longer are you gonna be out here?" He asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know, I guess maybe another hour or so." He nods.

"Well… I guess I'll see you back at the tower?" He starts backing up. I nod. He smiles then turns and continues his run. I turn the other way I start jogging again. Then a slowdown and stop; taking a moment to think I turn back around and run after him.

I run up beside him and he smirks.

"Might as well have someone to talk to." I said. He nods.

"So, how far do you usually go?" He asked.

"Usually a few miles, like 4-5 or so. Not too much." I say, looking ahead. "What about you?" He shrugged.

"Around ten or so." I whip my head around in his direction.

"Ten! Like 1-0, ten!?" He laughs.

"Yeah, every morning." I sigh.

"What mile are you on?" I ask in a groaning tone. He grins.

"Four." I groan louder in a playful manner as we keep running.

~0~

I was experiencing a new level of pain after the run with Steve, oh my god. I groaned around the tower this morning with every step. Clint couldn't stop laughing at me and Natasha felt bad for me for completing the run and let me have the day off from training. I was relieved.

I watched a few movies and had a can of soda, along with a small bag of chips and nacho cheese dip. Clint walks in and sits down next to me. Looking at the TV for a few minutes before speaking up.

"Hey, I guess you're not up for sparring right?" He asked. I laughed.

"Not really, unless you have something that doesn't involve me moving my legs." He grins and raises an eyebrow. I glance at him.

"What are you planning…?" I asked slowly. He smirks.

"Nothing really…" He says, putting his hands behind his head; leaning back. I sit for a moment, looking at the TV.

"Ok, spill." I say turning back to him. He grins.

"Follow me." We get up and I follow him to the elevator.

~0~

We walk into the gym and up to an empty area. He pushes a few buttons on wall panel and a case rises from the floor, three different bows were there. I raise an eyebrow. He gives a mischievous grin. He walks over to it and I follow.

"Pick your weapon of choice." He says, gesturing to the case. I look at all of them. There was recurve, a compound, and a double recurve.

"I'll take the compound." I say. He raised an eyebrow and handed it to me. He pushes a few other buttons on the wall and three different targets came up. I look to him and he gives me an arrow. He walks up behind me.

"Ok, so first you-"He was putting his hands up to help me when I lifted the bow and drew back; I let out a breath and released, hitting the third ring.

His hands were frozen midair as he stared at the target. Then he dropped his hands and stared at me, eyebrows raised. A small smile appears on my face.

"What? I took archery when I was little." I say. He smirks.

"Might wanna mention that next time!" He says playfully. I laughed.

"Give me something new then!" I say competitively. He grins and walks back over to the wall; pushing a different button. The targets go back into the floor. A moment later the ground started shifting.

Soon small, fake buildings loomed in front of me. The windows were open and hologramic figures were in them, shooting hologramic guns and switching windows; running back and forth.

I stare at him in shock. He leans against the wall; crossing his arm. He grins.

"You said you wanted new." He says playfully. I glared at him, then smile. Once turned back I gulp and raise the bow.

~0~

After my mistake of wanting Clint's version of new practicing toys, he showed me archery tips. How to better hold the bow, what to aim for, blah, blah, blah, etc. I was in my room now and after logging my day so far I started thinking about my best friend. Her name is Samantha Powell. Of course I call her Sam though. We had been best friend's sense fifth grade. I haven't heard from her sense and I presume she's dead along with my family.

I hear a knock on my door and I get up to answer it. Natasha walks in before I get there.

"Hey, what ya doin?" She says, walking in and sitting crisscross on my bed. I shrug. She raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?" I smile and shake my head.

"Na, nothing really. Just thinking about a friend." I say. She nods.

"What's her name?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You really feel like hearing this?" I say. She nods. "Ok, her name is Samantha Powell. She's a year older than me." She nods.

"Where is she now?" I shrugged.

"Don't know, probably dead." I say, my voice saddened. Natasha puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, you can't afford to think like that." She makes clear.

"Just saying, all of my close family is dead, and she was one of the closest people I know." She stares at the floor for a minute before getting up, a slightly excited look on her face.

"I'll be right back." She says. I raise an eyebrow but nod, watching her leave.

~0~

I was now sitting on the couch on the communal floor or the tower. It had been a few hours sense Natasha disappeared from my room and I kinda wondered what she was up to. There was a sudden ding and the elevator door opens. I half expected it to be Natasha but it was Pepper. _Had a full day gone by already? _I thought. I look at the clock on the wall. It was 6:15. I smile at Pepper.

"Hey Kate." She says, sounding tired. I get up and follow her to the counter.

"Long day?" I assumed. She sighed and nodded.

"Like you wouldn't believe." She says. I chuckle. Then, Pepper's phone beeps, and a text message appears on the screen. She reads it, smiling. "Natasha wants you to go wait by the elevator," I give her a confused look, but do as I'm told.

I walk over and wait. The elevator door dings and it opens. I gasp.

**Cliffhanger! Ha-ha! You'll have to wait til the next chapter to see what happens! Hope you enjoyed this chap, please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Here's the next chapter everyone! I hope you're all enjoying it so far, and if you like it, please, please review! They get me excited and help me update faster. And also, feel free to review and tell me what you think should happen next. If I'm suffering writers block, believe me; I'll let you know! Now, this is a crazy chapter that will continue into chapter 5 everyone, so prepare! A lot happens. Anyway…enjoy!**

I gasp. It was Sam! She looked shocked, as she smiled ear to ear.

"Kate!" She yelled. I blinked; mouth dropped a big smile on my face.

"Sam?!" She squeals and pulls me into a hug. "B-But. I….Wha-, how?" I couldn't find my words til I look past, seeing Natasha smiling, still standing in the elevator.

"Ms. Rushmen told me about you and that you were still alive!" We pull out of the hug and I raised an eyebrow, but then receive a look from Natasha. _That must be her undercover name. _I thought. _Cool! _ I look back to her.

"I can't believe _you're _still alive." I exclaim; looking her over. She gives me a confused look and a laugh.

"What do ya mean by that?" She laughs a little, slightly confused. My smile fades and I look to Natasha. She comes out of the elevator, giving a nod and then walks over to Pepper. I turn back, giving a reassuring smile.

"Here, follow me." She smiles and nods. Following me into the elevator as we climb to my room, I take a deep breath.

~0~

Sam looked close to tears. I told her about my parents, we were now standing in my room.

"Kate…I am so sorry." She pulls me into a gentle hug. I nod, resting my head on her shoulder. "I wish I knew, but after I moved. I didn't speak to your parents' mu-"

"Wait, you moved?" I ask, pulling out of her hug. She nodded.

"Yeah, we live a few blocks away from here." She says; a small smile appears on her face. I brighten up.

"Really!? That's amazing!" I say; putting a hand on her shoulder. She nods.

"It's no Frederick, but it's ok." I smile. We sit in silence for a moment before Sam speaks up again. "So, I have question." She starts. I chuckle, looking at her; an eyebrow raised. "Why are you living in Stark Tower!?" She laughs. I laugh too.

"Long story. A very, very long one." I admit. She shrugs, sitting crisscross on my bed.

"I got time." She grins. I open my mouth to begin and stop. _Can I just start talking about the Avengers with her? I mean, I could accidentally give away classified info or what if she shouldn't be here in the first place? _I got lost in thought. Sam snaps her fingers in front of my face and I blink out of my thoughts. "So…?" I stare at her.

"I'll be right back." I run to the elevator and push the button several times. It finally opens and I run in. As the door slowly closes I peek out to see if she was following than bring my head back in as it closes.

~0~

I run up to Clint and Natasha after I emerge from the elevator.

"What can I tell her?" I start. Clint raised an eyebrow. Natasha hesitates.

"Well, what is she asking about?" She says in a calm voice. I let out a breath.

"Everything." Clint chuckles and Natasha's assuring face went blank. She thinks for a minute.

"Can I get back to you on that?" She says sweetly. I nod and she drags Clint into the kitchen. I go over to the couch and sit down. I hear bits and pieces of their conversation.

A few minutes later Pepper comes over. I look up and smile.

"So, on a scale of 1-10, how long have you known Sam?" She asked. I smirk.

"11" She gives a little chuckle.

"So, you trust her with your life." She says. I give a nod, and then laugh.

"Let's hope it doesn't come down to that though." I say with a face. Pepper smiles; putting a hand on my shoulder before returning to the sitting area. Natasha walks over, along with Clint.

"Alright." She starts. I sit up straighter, waiting for a reply. "We'll go ask everyone if there ok with her knowing about them, and if everyone's in agreement…then you can tell her everything." Natasha says; a hint of sternness in her voice. I smile and nod.

I get up and run to the elevator.

~0~

A while later, Natasha had gotten everyone's approval. Now Sam and I were getting into the elevator, on our way to the communal floor.

We walk out once the door opens. I glance at Sam who was looking around at everyone. Surprisingly, everyone was here.

Clint was watching a new show airing on TV, Natasha was sending a mission report to that guy Director Fury, Tony was tinkering with the glove of his suit while making small talk with Bruce, Pepper was on the phone with someone from work, and Steve was reading a book, and having an occasional word with Clint.

Pepper looks up and smiles. So does everyone else. They all look at each other; Pepper puts her phone away and walks over.

"So, Sam." She begins. Sam makes a face, and then smiles. I chuckle. "We understand you want some answers?" She says a slight laugh in her voice. Sam glances at the people behind Pepper, than me. I smirk.

"...yeah..." She says slowly. Pepper chucked.

"Ok, well why don't you come meet everyone." Pepper leads her over to the sitting area. Natasha and Clint look up first, and then Steve does. "This is Natasha Romanoff. And-" Sam holds up her hands.

"Wait, you told me your name was Natalie Rushmen!" Sam says, feeling betrayed but smiling. Natasha just gives a small smile.

"And this is Clint Barton." She says. Clint smiles and holds out his fist. She shrugs and fist bumps him, grinning. I smile, _I'm glad they're warming up to her, sort a. _I chuckle to myself. "This is Steve Rogers." Pepper says; turning Sam around by the shoulders. Steve had stood up and held out a hand.

"Ma'am." Sam smiles, shaking his hand. I see her blush slightly and hold a hand to my mouth so I didn't laugh. "Tony!" Pepper yells to get his attention. He looks up, and so does Bruce. Bruce comes over first. "Sam, this is Bruce Banner." She introduces. Sam smiles and shakes his hand.

"Pleasure." Tony waves in her direction.

"Hi." And that was all. Pepper and I sigh.

"That's as close as he'll get to a proper introduction." I say, Sam giggled. Pepper looks around.

"Yeah, and that's everyone." She declares. I smile. Sam nods, looking at everyone, who was looking back at them. Sam looked at everyone for a second, turning and glancing at all the faces. He mouth was open like she wanted to say something. I knew she was catching on that I was kinda living with the Avengers. She continues to look and then her eyes widen.

"Y-your t-the..." She tries to get out. I grinned.

"The Avengers? Yeah. That's us." Tony says plainly, not taking his eyes off his glove. Sam gulped, and then a big smile appeared on her face. She ran toward me and grabbed my arm. I yelp as she starts pulling toward the elevator. We get in and it starts closing.

"Be back in a moment!" She says before it closes.

...

Everyone looks at each other.

"What was that all about?" Clint spoke up. Everyone shrugged.

…

The door closes and I look at Sam.

"YOU'RE LIVING WITH THE AVENGERS!" She screams; jumping up and down. I laugh, and nod.

"Yeah, Sam. I'm living with the Avengers." I repeat putting my hands on her shoulders to contain her jumping. She started waving her hands really fast and I chuckle. She starts taking deep breaths, she had a huge grin on her face and I couldn't start smiling. The door opens and we go to my room; opening the door, I close it behind us.

"Ok-" she walks over to my bed and sits down. I walk over, sitting next to her. "Just start from the beginning." She says. I nod; letting out a breath.

"Well...the day that SHIELD found me, they were on a mission; trying to take down the people that took me and several others, for-...a certain reason you don't need to know and I never really understood." She nods. "Yeah, so...uh, they were trying to find all of the hostages-including me- and Steve found me first..." I see her smile. She shoulders me.

"That must of made your day am I right?" She says nudging me. I look at her and laugh.

"You're the one who blushed when he said _hi_!" I laugh; bolding _hi _in my wording. She shrugged. "And plus, I didn't even recognize him at the time." I say. She raised an eyebrow.

"How?! He's Captain America." She says, sounding astonished. I stare off for a minute.

"I was being held against me will for 8 months, I wasn't playing the guess who game, Sam." I laugh. She giggled.

"So what happened next?" I think for a moment.

"Well, after I decided on going with them, I went to the Helicarrier thing, - or what her it's called. And-"

"Wait, wait-. Wait. When you _decided_ on going with them? Why wouldn't you?" She says.

"No, you don't get it. I didn't know who they were. Even if they were nice to me at the time I didn't know who to really trust. I couldn't be sure they would treat me like they did." I say. She hesitates before nodding.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that." She pulled me into a hug. I give a small smile.

"Well, at least there gonna let me stay here in the meantime." I say. She nods, after pulled out of the hug, them she raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by mean time?" I sighed.

"I'm not living here forever Sam. I know there just keeping me here til I tell them more about why I was taken." She furrowed her eyebrows.

"We'll that sucks." She says. I shrug. She smiles and puts a hand on my shoulder. "At least you have them til that time comes." I smile.

~0~

After Sam went home, I went back to the communal floor. As I entered, I saw everyone looking in my direction.

I slow down. They didn't look mad, but not happy either.

"Ok, what did I do wrong? - Was I being too pushy about Sam? - or was it-"

"We're not mad Kate; we just need to talk to you about something." Steve says. I nod, walking over and siting on the couch. I look around, turns out, Tony and Bruce weren't here.

"So, I heard you talking to Sam." Natasha spoke up. I stop, my breath caught in my throat.

"What did you hear?" I ask, slightly mad, but didn't show it to much in my voice. They all look at each other.

"About you only being hear for a certain reason." Natasha says. I gave a nod.

"Kate weren't not going to lie to you, but your right." Steve says. "We thought that if you spent some time with people you could trust than it would be easier for you to get back out there." He says. I nodded again. I knew I would be here for a reason but not like this. I thought.

"I know that's not it." I look at him. He furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm not stupid. I know you all are trying to figure out my ability." I say. All of their eyebrows shot up.

I look at them; they looked defeated on that one. Natasha looked clueless for a change on what to say, Clint had his mouth open as to say 'ooh…busted!' And Steve looked clueless on what to say as well, Pepper was avoiding eye contact with anyone.

"I uh, I don't know what to say." Steve admits. I keep my eyes on him, and then look at the floor.

"You know if you had just asked me from the beginning I might have told you. But sense it was done this way, how do I not know you're trying to by my friendship, so you can report to Fury about my progress and if you can get rid of me yet?!" I say in a serious tone.

"Kate, it's nothing like that." Natasha says in a gentle voice. I shake my head.

"You might as well send me to a foster home now instead of later because I'm not telling you my ability." I get up and walk to the elevator. It opens and I go down to the lobby.

I run out the door and away from the tower.

...

They all sat on the couch stunned. Steve got up first and was about to walk toward the elevator when Natasha stopped him.

"Just give her some time. If she doesn't come back then we'll go look for her." He thinks about it before giving a nod and sitting back down.

**There you go! That's a cliff hanger for ya! Check in to see what happens to Kate! The next chap is like a part to of this. **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5… (4½) :)

**Ok, so this is like a part two of chapter 4. You will also receive a bit of info on Kate… *evil laughing* Enjoy!**

I knew I couldn't trust them, they don't really care. They just wanted to figure me out. If I let them tell Fury about my ability, than they could do whatever they wanted.

They could experiment on me, dump me in a lab. Or just send me off the foster care, they didn't really care; they just needed to know if I was a threat or not.

I run down the streets, I needed to get as far away as possible. I run across the street, cars honk at me but I ignore it. Running through a crowd I pass a few stores.

...

It was dark, probably like 11pm. I had been running for an hour straight. I ran in front of a taxi, it stops and honks.

...

Sam looks up as the taxi puts on the breaks. Someone ran in from of it that she recognized. Kate! She thought. She threw the money up front and got out.

...

"Kate!" I hear my name and stop. I turn and see Sam running toward me. I sigh, and then smile. She looked worried. "What the h are you doing out here?" She says. I was breathing hard.

"I-I can't live with them." I say between breaths. I rubbed my chest from the cold; arms crossed. She looked shocked.

"Why not? I thought you loved living with them?"

"I thought I did, but it was all a set up. They were just trying to get through to me to get information about my kidnapping. It was all a lie." I say, my face was red. I felt like I was going to snap.

Pity was in Sam's eyes; she looks at me and sees me shivering.

"Oh!- God, your freezing." She starts taking off her jacket, under it a hoodie. She puts it around my shoulders. My teeth chatter and we get onto the side walk. "Here, why don't I buy you something to eat?" I shiver and nod, now realizing how cold it was out. I took out my phone and saw the temperature was 50 degrees! We start walking down the street.

~0~

Kate and Sam were walking around the city, after getting shwarma.

"God, Kate. I can't believe we were living so close for weeks and didn't see each other." Sam says. I shrug.

"Yeah, it's pretty crazy." Kate says. They walk in silence for a few minutes.

"So, are you ok?" Sam asked. Kate smiled.

"Yeah, I let my guard down too quickly. If I hadn't, it wouldn't have been a big deal" She admits. Sam shrugs.

"It's just...I can't imagine how hard those 8 months must of been." Sam says. "Trying to hold on not knowing if you'd ever get out." She says. Kate nods.

"Well, you can thank SHIELD for-" Kate slows down. Sam looks at her.

"What?" She looks ahead and sees what she's looking at.

Three big dogs were staring them down, about 50 yards ahead.

Sam takes a step back.

"Run. Now." Kate says. The dog's lip's rise up into a snarl and growl as they start to walk toward them.

"Run!" Kate says, pushing her friend ahead. They take off, away from the tower as the dogs gain on them.

_This can't be happening!_ Kate thought. _After everything I survived, I was gonna die by some dogs? _She looks behind her and sees them about 20 feet away and gaining. Sam keeps running straight when Kate runs down an ally. _I can't believe I'm about to do this._ Kate thought. Sam looks behind her and stops.

"Kate!?" She yells. Suddenly a huge black wolf leaps out of the ally in front of the dogs. It's lips raise into a snarl as it stares them down. The dogs bark and growl; standing their ground. Sam puts her hands on her head as she watches in shock. The wolf growls and barks at them. One dog runs at the wolf, and then the other two follow. One of the dogs tried to bite the wolf's neck. The wolf dodges it and sinks it teeth in the dog's leg, it whines and suddenly the two other dogs advance.

One bites down on the wolf's upper front leg and the wolf whines in pain. The wolf snarls and gets the dog off it and stares don't the two dogs still there. Sam pulled out her phone and dialed a number. The brown dog leaps at the wolf wrestling out to the ground and the other one runs toward Sam. Sam goes wide eyed; she closes her phone and starts running.

The wolf looks over seeing the dog running after her. It bites down on the one dogs paw, sinking its teeth in before shaking him off and taking off toward the Rottweiler chasing Sam.

Sam runs with the strength she has left. She looks back for the dog when she doesn't see the uneven side walk and trips, she turns over and just as the dog reaches her the wolf barks and jumps on him and wrestles him to the ground growling and snarling. Sam watches in horror as the wolf pins him down, growling as to say make a move and I kill you.

Suddenly the brown dog bites down on the same fore leg, pulling it off the dog. The wolf whines and can't get loose. It shakes its head violently, tearing off some flesh. Sam looks for something to help. She sees a metal pole next to an ally way. She gets up and runs over; picking it up. She runs at the dog and

_Wham!_

She nails it right in the side; it whines and takes off with the other two wounded dogs. The wolf was still lying on the ground and blood was seeping over the pavement. Sam ran to its side.

"Kate?!" She says. The wolf looks up at her with big eyes. Suddenly, the wolf form changes and it turns back into Kate.

"God dammit!" Kate yells, holding her arm where the jacket was ripped to shreds and quickly filling with blood. Sam looked really worried. "How did- you know-?" Kate asked.

"About your ability?" She asked in a gentle voice. Kate nods. Sam then shakes her head. "Not the time for it, we need to get Bruce." She helps her friend up.

"N-no. I...want a hos...pital." She makes out between breaths.

"It's too far, Stark Tower's just around the corner." She helps Kate toward the tower.

~0~

It was the first time I used my ability in so long. _I can't believe Sam knew!_ Kate thought.

The elevator dings and Sam was half dragging Kate onto the communal floor. Everyone was surprisingly there. They look up and looks of horror cross their faces.

"Oh my god! What happened!?" Pepper says running up to them. Steve gets there first and helps Sam get a half conscious Kate down stairs to the lab.

"W-we attacked by some dogs, Kate was trying to protect me when one almost ripped her arm off." Sam says; she looked close to tears. We get into the lab; Bruce was there he looked up shocked.

"What happened?!" He asks.

"Dog attack, she's bleeding out." Steve says. They place her on a table and Bruce comes over.

He pushes up the sleeve revealing a bloody mess. It was a mostly clean cut. There were four long gashes down her arm from the teeth, but also some flesh missing from her arm too.

"We need to stop the bleeding." Bruce says, getting a first aid bin from under the table. He pulls out disinfectant chemicals and puts them on the raps.

He presses them on her arm. He eyes shoot open and she hissed.

"God dammit, Banner!" She says. "Be careful, I'm not made of steel ya know!" Clint smirks.

"Even after getting mauled by a dog you still got a sense of humor." He says. Kate lets out a painful chuckle, biting her tongue for the pain.

...

**A few hours later...**

It was about 2am and Bruce was finishing up. After cleaning out the wound, Bruce starts rapping my arm in bandages. He pulls it tight and I winced.

"Sorry, but no one ever said recovery was painless." Bruce chuckles. I roll my eyes.

"It hurts more than it did before." I complain, sounding pissed off.

"That's because you were falling in and out of consciousness." Bruce says with a smirk.

He tightens it a bit more before letting go.

"Well, you're all set." He said.

"Thank you." I say, he gives a nod and I head for the elevator.

~0~

**Meanwhile...**

"And you're sure she didn't do anything unusual?" Natasha asked. Sam shook her head.

"No, she hit one dog with a metal rod she found in an ally...but it all happened so fast... I don't remember anything out of the ordinary." Sam says, remembering the moment. "Why?" Steve, Clint and Natasha glance at each other.

"No reason, we just wanna make sure she's alright." Steve says.

"Of course I'm alright." Kate says, no one hearing her entering. She sits on one of the stools. "Why wouldn't I be?" She says giving them a look when Sam's not looking. "Hey, Sam." Kate gets her attention.

"Yeah?"

"I wanna talk to you about something." They get up and head toward Kate's room.

~0~

Once they enter her room, Kate turns and closes the door. "Alright, start talkin." Kate says. Sam gives her a confused look.

"What do ya mean?"

"How did you know about my ability?" Kate says in a quieter voice. Sam sighs.

"Your parents told me everything." Kate's eyes widen.

"And you didn't think I should know that?!" She raises her voice.

"I was protecting you!" Sam says.

"What?-...How?" She asked.

"Think of it this way. If I hadn't known, how would you have ended up last night? Would you change back anyway? Either way, I would have found out and I could have told them about you back there but I didn't." She says. Kate understood now.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know they were asking questions." Kate says, she walks over and hugs her.

"It's fine." Sam rolls her eyes. "What are friends for, am I right?" She grins.

~0~

"I think she knows more than she's telling." Clint says.

"Yeah." Natasha says. "Something when down last night, we need to find out what it was. We know Kate won't say anything, so we need to find another way to clear this up." She makes clear.

"We could check security cameras on the street. Maybe we'll see something." Clint offers. They all nod.

"But what if she's telling the truth?" Steve says. "Kate hasn't told any of us yet what her ability is. And if she thinks no one should know about it and its worth getting mauled by a dog over- if Sam's telling the truth- then we need to try something else." He says.

"Like what?" Clint demands. "What do you think we should do?"

"I don't know." He says back. "I think what I'm trying to say is, maybe she's keeping this from us for a reason."

~0~

After Sam went home after dinner that day, I started drawing another wolf in my sketch book. After this kinda thing happens I always love drawing. It clears my head. I do a layout of the body before I start with the details.

I can't run away from this. Might as well just wait til they throw me out.

...

After finishing my picture I get changed. I come out of the bathroom in a tank and some sweatpants. The sun was going down and I feel like crap. I crawl into bed and turn the light off.

~0~

_The dogs jumped at me with teeth covered in blood. I felt my flesh being ripped from my bones as they started to kill me. There growling and barking filled me ears._

I shoot up out of my bed. A cold sweat was drenching me and my heart was beating extremely fast. I look around for the dogs.

"Are you ok Ms. Sanders? Do you require assistance?" Jarvis says.

"N-no Jarvis, I'm fine." I take a deep breath and let it out. I look at the time. It was 2:43. Sighing I get back under the covers and drift back off to sleep.

~0~

It had been a few days sense the incident, and I couldn't sleep. Nightmares of that night haunted me. I couldn't get them out of my head. I forgot how much my ability took a toll on my body. I was weak for days after. Not to mention my arm, but it was getting better.

I get up out of bed and look at the clock, I just had another nightmare again. It was 4:45am. I groan and get dressed getting ready for my run.

~0~

I jog past a few benches; I wasn't planning on breaking today for a drink. I kept jogging, I wasn't getting tied yet so I went a bit faster. Someone jogs up beside me and I don't look at them.

"I'm sorry if you took what we said the wrong way." Steve says. I keep looking ahead. I can't out run him obviously so might as well ignore him. "But it wasn't a setup, Kate. You know we do care about you right?" He asked. I keep looking ahead. After a few seconds I just nod, to make him happy. We jog in silence for a few minutes.

"If knowing my ability was so important, than why didn't you just ask?" I say. He doesn't respond. "I probably would have told you. But you all thought you needed to gain my trust first, and once you found out my ability, you would have dumped me in a foster home." I say. He glanced at me, but didn't say anything.

It starts raining and I feel my clothes getting drenched. It started to down pour. Steve slowed down. I kept going.

"Why don't we head back?" He says. I slow down and stop. Starring ahead.

"I'm gonna keep going." I say, I pick my jog back up and he gently grabs my arm. I whip my head around at him.

"Come on. Your gonna catch pneumonia. Let's head back." I glare at him for a moment, and then nod. He lets go of my arm and we pick up the jog again. I stayed behind him on the jog back.

~0~

By the time we reached the tower we were drenched. My brown hair was matted against my face, and my clothes were uncomfortably wet.

We walk into the elevator and have a silent ride up. The door opens and I see Pepper sitting at the dining room table, a frustrated look on her face.

She looks up and smiles. I give a brief small smile, then go back to my closed off mode and grab an apple from the counter before going back to the elevator toward my room.

...

Steve sat down across from her. She looked at him; he was drenched.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Started raining." He says, leaning on his fist.

"You know what I mean." She says. He shrugs, taking his hand away from his face and leaning back in his chair.

"She's pissed off, and I don't blame her." He says. Pepper sighs.

"Just-, try not talking about it. If she seems like she doesn't want to talk about it then don't bring it up. Give it time." She says. He nods.

"And were back to square one."

~0~

Once in my room I throw the wet clothes in the laundry shoot and got in the shower. I put the water on hot and just stood in it. It burned, but I didn't care.

I can't trust them now, I can't let them get close, and I can't let anything about my ability out.

...

After getting out of the shower and getting dressed in one of my new outfits, I looked at the clock. It was only 7am. I groan and sit down at my desk. I open the draw and see the sketch book. I slam the drawl shut and sit there; staring out the window.

I don't know what to do. Most of my schedule included someone there. Usually Natasha, Steve, and Clint. And those happened to be the only people close to Fury.

I get up and head for the elevator. I was wearing worn jeans with a navy blue tank and a red flannel with navy chucks. I sigh as I walk toward the elevator. This was going to get interesting.

**And there it is folks! You got a hint on her ability! We don't know what it is for sure yet so keep checking for updates and see what happens next! Hope you liked it! Please review! **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Here's the next chapter everyone! I hoped you liked the last few chapters. I also wanted to give you a little history on the coming of this story.**

**My first story, -if you haven't read it yet- was originally going to be about a girl named Kate with an ability, same story and everything, just her name was changed and she also had an ability on top of everything. But it evolved into a girl named Alex and how her parents weren't who she thought they were. I thought up this story a year or so ago when I was on vacation. I had written the first chapter at that time. Yeah, so… time went by and I actually forgot about it. And about a month ago I was cleaning out my documents and found it! I read it and didn't think it was half bad so I uploaded it! **

**Yeah, so that's the origins of this story! Ok, I'll shut up now and give you your chapter. **

It had been almost a week sense all that crap about my ability happened. I don't want to think about it, but that's all that I _can_ think about. I had stopped training with Natasha, and I wasn't doing anything prank-like with Clint. I did still run, but I took a different route every day.

I pulled off my running sneakers and put them in my closet. I had just finished my run, and I really felt like training with Natasha. But I can't get close to them. Soon enough I'll be going to a foster home or something anyway. I can just use the punching bag.

I changed into some sweat pants and a t-shirt, before headed to the gym.

…

I walk out of the elevator and onto the gym floor. I walk over to the punching bags and set my water bottle down on one of the benches. I look at a few of them and pick the one in the corner. I walk over and put my hand on it; then I put my head up against it; taking a few deep breaths. _This is so complicated. _I thought. I let my hand fall away after a few seconds; I lift my head up and throw my first punch.

It actually felt pretty good. I threw another and a few more. It stung my knuckles a bit but I ignored it, sense I wasn't wearing gloves or raps or anything it stung even more. I kept throwing punches; putting my angry into each one.

~0~

I was in the gym for a few hours throwing punches, at one point I couldn't feel my hands. But for some reason I hadn't stopped. My knuckles were almost black from bruising; I walked around the tower with fingerless gloves so no one would see it.

I walk out of the elevator and onto the communal floor. I grab an apple from the counter and sit on the couch. I turn on the TV and flip through a few channels. I look at my apple as I take a bite; flipping through the channels; listening for something interesting. I take a bite and hear a familiar line.

I look up and see Star Wars episode I. I smile. I was a huge Star Wars fan. It was at the part where Anakin was about to start the pod race. It was one of my favorite parts in the movie…Despite the little crush I had on him when I was little…

I stare at the TV as I take a bite of my apple. Suddenly, the elevator opens and Pepper walks in with Sam. I look up and smile. Sam walks over and sits down next to me.

"Hey." She says. I just smile.

"Hi." She looks at the TV for a minute.

"Oh hey!" She says. "Star Wars! I haven't seen this is forever." She adjusts herself on the couch and watches with me. I chuckled and continued to watch. After a few moments of silence she turns to me. "So um, how are things? - around here anyway." She asked in a quiet tone. I shrug.

"Quiet, I don't want to get any closer to them, but I can't help it." I tell her. She nods.

"You know, one day. You'll look back on this and think: Why didn't I just make the most of it?" Sam looks at me, with a serious face. I don't respond as I look at the floor.

~0~

A few hours later, Sam and I had gone out to lunch. Clint made both of us carry knives, in case of any K-9 encounters. I had rolled my eyes, but Sam made me take it. We went for Subway, one of my favorite places to eat on crappy days like this.

We had both gotten foot long subs and half a dozen chocolate chips cookies. Like is said before; on crappy days like this we go full out.

After that, we had gone to the park and walked around for a bit. I just stared ahead as Sam gave me lectures on how I should enjoy the time I have with them, and blah, blah, blah… Sam eventually went home and I was now in my room.

I logged my day so far and a thought came to mind. I walk over to my closet and open the double doors; I see my skateboard hiding behind my combat boots from Natasha and Clint. I grin and pick it up; getting the matching, black helmet and run for the elevator.

…

I walk out onto the sidewalk in front of the Tower. I clip my helmet. Before I drop my skateboard I look both ways, in hopes as to not get run over. Dropping it and jumping on, I cruised across the pavement and jumped the curb; onto the sidewalk.

~0~

Coulson scooted past a few agents, walking onto the bridge of the Helicarrier. Fury was growing _really _impatient with Kate and was about ready to send her to the sandbox. He walks up to Director Fury. He turns; pinning his gaze on him.

"Coulson, have you found _anything _**yet**?" He asked. Coulson shook his head.

"They're trying their best Sir, but after the incident a week or so ago she's become more closed off. " Coulson explains. Clint and Natasha had called in the incident with the dogs to Fury. Fury huffs, pressing something on the control panels a bit harder than necessary.

"Find it out, or I will." He makes clear. Coulson gives a nod before turning around and walking toward the flight deck to go to Stark Tower.

~0~

**Two hours later…**

It was about 3pm and the sun was going to set soon. I was still skating around the city. I jump off the curb with my board and turn down a darker road. It wasn't too bad; maybe a bit messy and criminal looking. But I wasn't worried too much.

I skated past a few dumpsters and here something. I stop, slowing my board down. I look around; it sounded like a bottle being smashed. How original right? I narrow my eyes and keep going. The road was looking a lot darker now. It looked pretty much deserted.

For some reason I felt like I was being watched, I try to ignore I as I keep going. I could hear what sounded like running and I turn around too late. Someone grabs me from behind; putting an arm around my neck. My skateboard flies out from under me and I try to look around to see who it was. There were other people there too. I heard a car pulling up behind me and my breath started quickening.

"Hurry." I hear a guy's voice.

"He needs her at the Sandbox ASAP." I hear another guy say. _The Sandbox? _I thought. _What the hell is that? _I get taken out of my thoughts as I act. I use my right foot and curve it around his foot, pulling forward, causing him to loose balance. I feel the arm loosen and I push it around, pressing back as far as it went. He cried out in pain and I push his arm til I hear a crack. I push the guy over and see three men run at me.

One of them pulls out a gun and I freeze. He grinned as one guy walks up he grabs my arm and I twist it away, and then kick him in the ribs. He winced and comes back. He glares at me and punches me right in the mouth. I fly back, hitting the pavement with a thud; rolling a few feet. I groan and spit out blood, my vision blurry. Another comes over and nails me in the ribs with his foot. My eyes fly open as a feel his foot practically move my ribs apart. I try to hold in my cry of pain as I wrap an arm around my side.

"Enough. He doesn't want her dead when we get there." One says. "What the!?-"I hear a scuffle going on as I don't get up. I hear a gun go off and I want to look up, I move a bit and feel a bit of pain in my side; but not too much. Suddenly all noise stopped. I hear footsteps coming toward me and I think fast. _If I punch the person in the face it might give me the chance to escape! _I thought. I wait to the person is right on top of my and I roll around and send a punch directly at my target. The figure catches my punch.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Steve flinched at my sudden attack. I furrow my eyebrows.

"W-What the hell!?" I yell. He lets go of my hand and I scoot back, sitting up. "How did-, what are you doing here?!" I yell at him, pushing myself to my feet.

"What are _you _doing here?!" He raised his voice slightly.

"_Skateboarding!" _I say in a smart tone. He throws his hands in the air like it's obvious.

"Oh, yeah. Cause that _really _looks like skateboarding." He gestures to the guys knocked out behind him.

"I was handling it." I say; limping slightly, over to my skateboard.

"You were about to be kidnapped _again, _Kate." He says. I scoff.

"Like it would have made a difference, and you never answered my question. What are you doing here?" I make myself clear.

"I saw you go down _criminal valley_ a bit ago." He says. I make a face.

"So you followed me?!" I say.

"Where would you be now if I didn't?" He asked. I huff; I stare at the ground, and then wipe away blood from my busted lip.

"I'm going back to the Tower." I grumble. I was about to throw my skate board out when he grabbed it. I raise an eyebrow. "What the hell Cap! Give me my board!" I say, he holds it above my head as jump up; trying to get it.

"Nope. You're not riding back after that. Let's go." He says, walking back the way we came. I groan and reluctantly follow him.

~0~

We got into a taxi and were on our way back to the tower. Steve glanced down at my hands. They were black at the knuckles.

"What happened to your hands?" He asked. I look over, and then look at my hands.

"Punching bag." I answer. He raised an eyebrow.

"There's a reason they have raps for that." He says with a small smile.

"No pain, no gain." I respond; looking out my window. He nods in agreement after a few seconds. We sit in silence the rest of the way back.

~0~

The taxi pulls up to the Tower and I open the door and run out.

"Kate!-"Steve yells, cutting short as I run in the door; throwing the money up and getting out and running for the elevator. I get there first, pushing the button a gazillion times before it opens. I push the close button and it closes just as he reaches it. Stopping just as it closed. He sighed, and then glanced at the stairs.

…

A few minutes later I ran out onto the communal floor. Clint and Natasha were there and Tony was fixing something at the counter. Pepper wasn't home yet. They look up. Clint furrows his eyebrows first, seeing my busted lip and black eye.

"What happened to you?" He asked in a concerned voice, getting up. I shrug.

"Nothing." I turn around and Steve was suddenly standing there; arms crossed.

"No, it wasn't _nothing._" He says. I huff, and then furrow my eyebrows.

"You seriously did not run up all those stairs just now." I say in a serious tone.

"What happened Kate?" Natasha walks up concerned. She lifts my chin; inspecting my wounds. I shrug again.

"It was nothing.-"I say louder.

"She almost got car knapped." Steve says in an over exaggerating tone, leaning against the counter.

"What?!" Natasha looks at him; then me. "Are you ok?" She asked me very seriously.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I assure her.

"Well you don't look fine." Clint says; handing me a wet rag. I put it up to my busted lip.

"You should have Bruce check that rib." Steve says. I glare at him; doing a slashing movement across my neck.

"Rib? - what happened to your rib?" Natasha asked. I throw my hands in the air.

"Nothing! I'm fine!" I say. They stare at me for a moment.

"Don't mind me. It's not like I'm here or anything." Tony says from the counter. Suddenly the elevator dings and we all look in that direction. Coulson walks out; seeing me banged up and bruised. He furrows his eyebrows.

"What happened to you?" He asked. I wave my hand in Steve's direction, expecting him to explain.

"Not much, just a scuffle in an alley." He says. Coulson nods. I scoff.

"Yeah, they wanted to take me to the _Sandbox_." I add in a creepy voice with an evil smile. They all look at me. "What?" I say, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Did you say sandbox?" Clint asked in a serious tone. I nod slowly. Clint folds his arms; then turns a glare on Coulson. Everyone else looks at him. I just raise an eyebrow.

"Fury." Coulson mumbles.

~0~

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" Natasha and Clint yell in sink at Fury. I lean back. Fury came to the Tower. Don't know why; I'm honestly clueless right now.

"Kate could have gotten seriously hurt!" Pepper yells. We told her when she got home. I had a feeling she wouldn't take it well.

"It was not the intention to harm her, just to transport her to the sandbox." Fury says. Natasha was pointing knives at him. (Not literal knives of course, but her eyes might as well have been knives.) Clint looked like he was going to send a punch flying at his face.

"Why didn't you just come here?!" Clint says.

"That's not how SHIELD works Barton; she wasn't cooperating with you people so we needed to speed things along." Fury sends a glare at him.

"And when were you going to tell us she was taken by SHIELD?" Pepper asked.

"Rogers wasn't supposed to be there at that time so we hadn't planned on explaining any of this." Fury says.

"So you weren't going to tell us you kidnapped her and shipped her to the sandbox." Steve sums up. Fury lets out a breath. Pepper turns to me.

"Kate, why don't you go to your room." Pepper says quietly. I look at everyone, then her and nod. I slowly walk to the elevator and walk in and it closed… But I didn't pick a floor number. I listen in on the conversation.

…

"You should have given us more time with her." Natasha says.

"Romanoff, we don't have all the time in the world do deal with burdens like this. " Fury says.

"She's is not a burden." Bruce speaks up. Fury glanced at him.

"She can be a pain with feathers at times… But Banners' right." Tony adds. Clint rolls his eyes.

"You too." Fury mumbles. They sit in silence for a bit longer. "You're all getting attached to this kid. She has to go." Fury says. He gets up and goes for the stairs.

…

I feel tears come to my eyes as I push the floor number; I walk out when it stops and run to my room.

**There's you chapter folks! A bit has happened and Fury got a bit more time in this one. Tension is rising, and Kate doesn't know where she belongs. Check in for chapter 7 to see what happens next! And Thor will be in the next chapter for you Thor fans!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Here's the next chapter everyone! I told you Thor would appear in this and Jan and Darcy will have an appearance too! So I hope you like this chapter!**

After Fury left and I went to bed that night I woke up past my alarm. I had slept in. I groan and look at the clock. It was 8:46. I roll out of bed and go get dressed.

A few minutes later I went down to the communal floor, I opened the fridge and took the whipped cream bottle out, squirting it into my mouth; as I did so I hatched an idea. I swallow the cream and grin.

"Jarvis." I called.

"Yes, Ms. Sanders?" He replies.

"Order several dozen packs of whipped cream and pie pans." I smirk at my thought.

"Very well, Ms. Sanders. But I do get the feeling I will regret sending in this order." He says. I smile.

"Don't worry Jarvis, it will be fine." I evilly grin and chuckle.

~0~

I was making dozens of little whipped cream pies; they were covering the counters and kitchen. I had made at least 5 dozen already; I was planning to prank **everyone!**

I hear the elevator ding and I grin. I grab the pie and run up beside the door. It opens and Steve walks out. _Must be coming back from his run. _I thought.

"Hey Steve!" I yell. He turns and I nail him in the face with one of the pies. He flinched at first, then I saw his shoulders relax. I throw my hands in the air laughing. "Bulls eye!" I yell. He wipes the pie off his face and looks at me, raising and eyebrow. My smile goes away. He grins and I back up. "No, no, no, no, no." I yell, running to the counter. He follows me. I run to the opposite side of the counter and he is on the other. I grab a pie and kneel down; my back to the counter; I chuckle to myself. A pie flies over and hits the fridge. I look up. I chuckled.

"Alright, come on out now. I'm done." Steve says. I raise an eyebrow and then stand up; facing him. Suddenly, a pie hits me square in the face. I flinched as it blinded me. I hear him laughing as I wipe it off my face. I nod.

"Smooth, real smooth." He was still laughing. I pick up a pie, walking up to him, pushing it into his face. He backs up and wipes some of it off; throwing it at me. I run away; toward the counter, picking up a pie as I go. He throws another at me and I duck, but on the way back up I get hit I'm the shoulder. I throw one at him as he ducks.

...

About an hour had gone by and we were completely covered head to toe in pie. I pulled a pie off the counter and hid behind it. Slowly i peaked my head out and didn't see him; confused slightly i stood up and looked around. There was suddenly movement to my left and i turned; throwing my pie and it hit something. I then realized what it was when i saw the red, white, and blue. My jaw dropped when Steve chuckled and lowered his shield.

"Wha- That's not fair!" I shout; making a slight pouty face.

"If you can get it from me then you can have it." He says. I roll my eyes.

"Please. I'd have to have that thing surgically removed from your arm." I smirk. Suddenly he pulls out a pie from behind his shield and i gasp before ducking behind the counter again. Oh, this is so not fair.

...

A few minutes later, the elevator dings. We both look up; my hand was in the air; about to through a pie and Steve was still hiding behind his shield. We grin and go to either sides of the door. It opens and Sam walks out.

"Hey Sam!" I yell. She turns and both of us throw pies at her. She screams; holding up her hands to block the pies and runs toward the bar. We follow and she runs around the counter and we stop waiting for her to peak out. Steve looks at me and grined; he puts a pie right on my face; smearing it around. I throw my hands in the air.

"Typical." I say, spitting it out.

"No one ever said time!" Steve laughed. Sam peaked out with her phone and took a picture. We look at her. I grin and hold up two pies.

"Oh sh-!" Sam ducks and the pie skims her head.

...

Operation Pie- as we were now calling it- was still going on. The pies were going to run out soon so we were stocking up. I'm slightly surprised that he's still here. What happened to the serious Super Soldier guy exactly?... Ok, screw it. It's not like i'm gonna start complaining here.

I stood up from behind the counter and threw a pie at him; it hit the shield and he peaked out long enough to throw one at me; it hit my side and i slipped; falling onto the kitchen floor.

"Ow!" I yelled. Then a thought popped into my head. "Ok, time." I shouted; standing up; holding my arm that was mauled by dogs. Steve hesitated before peaked out from behind his shield. Then he saw me holding my arm and immediately put his shield down an walked over.

"Is it your arm?" He asked in a slightly worried tone. I nodded and bit my lip. I've never acted this good in years. "Here, maybe we should have Bruce-" I ran passed him and around the counter; picking up his shield and laughing. He turns and sees me with the shield. He smirks; shaking his head. "Smooth. Real smooth." He shakes his head before putting a hand through his head; getting some whipped cream off his head.

"I honestly didn't think you'd buy that!" I laughed. He rolls his eyes before tossing pie at me in annoyance. I held the shield up and giggled. I had never actually held it before. I was a lot lighter than i'd thought it would be. My arm was too small for the straps on he back, and it was to bit too heavy to hold up-right with one arm; so i held it by the top rim.

...

About a half an hour later, we were still having the pie fight. Sam was still hiding behind the bar. No one heard the elevator door open and Pepper walks out and stops, looking shocked. We both froze. The entire kitchen was completely covered. And I mean completely!

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" She asked. We glanced at each other. I walk up to her; covered head to toe in pie.

"Was that outfit expensive?" I asked. She gives me a strange look.

"Well no-"

"Do you like it?" I push in. Steve smirked.

"It's not my favorite-" I bring the pie out from behind my back and push it into her face. Steve let a laugh escape before putting a hand over his mouth and Sam gasped. Pepper gasped and wiped the pie away from her face. I laugh and hold the shield up in from of me; backing up. I back up to far and Steve dumps a pie on my head.

"What- the? - "I grab some whipped cream off the counter and throw it at him. He tries to dodge and grabs a pie on the floor; throwing it in my direction I hits my leg and I slip on the cream on the floor, but regain my balance. Pepper had walked over to Sam, looking tired as she wiped the cream off her top and face. Sam gives a reassuring smile. I picked up a pie and throw it at him, he dodges that one and I back up and slip, falling on my butt. He laughs and picks up another. My eyes widened with a smile as I get up and run for cover. He grabs me from behind and holds my arms down; I yelp as he puts a pie right in my face.

"Ok, ok." Pepper walks out. We stand up straight and I spit out whipped cream; glaring in his direction. He just smirks.

...

Pepper had gone to clean up and was going to give Sam something to change into. Steve and I were "cleaning up" the kitchen, with the occasional throwing of pie. The elevator dings and we chuckle, exchanging a glance; once again, going to opposite sides of the elevator. Clint walks out.

"Hey Clint!" I yell. He turns and I nail him in the face. He leans back in shock as the pie came in contact with his face. I break down laughing. Clint looked in shock.

"Classic. Very impressive." He says. I giggle, knowing he didn't know Steve was there. Then Clint turns and Steve pushes a pie right into his face. Now that caught him by surprise. "What the-!?-"He wipes it off his face and sees Steve chuckling. "You're workin with the enemy!" He says to me; then looking at Steve.

"There are no sides here." I grin. He looks at us.

"W-well, this means war!" He says with a grin.

...

Pepper comes out in jean shorts and a tank top, and gasped along with Sam. Steve had Clint in a head lock; in play of course; while I was about to throw a pie at his face. We freeze seeing Pepper. She sighed.

"Are you kids done yet?" She asked. I don't see Steve and Clint exchange a grin.

"Nope!" Clint says. He grabs me and I collapsed, laughing while Steve puts a pie in my face. The elevator door dings and Natasha walks out. We all stop again. She raised an eyebrow. We all look in her direction; exchanging glances.

"Do I really wanna know?" She asked. Clint lets go of me and we all stand up.

"Not necessarily." Clint says. I giggled. She smirked and raised an eyebrow. Pepper clasps her hands together.

"Alright. I'll get a cleaning crew up here. Natasha, can you escort the hooligans to their rooms so a war doesn't break out in the elevator?" She asked Natasha nodded with a smile and we all laugh as we make our way to the elevator.

~0~

That was the most fun I had had in a while! I did feel a bit weird at first, but Sam did tell me to make the best of it. So that's what I did. I was surprised that Steve stayed and fought as long as he did, he just seems so serious most of the time that it shocked me when the first pie hit me in the face… of course Clint joining in was expected, knowing him.

I walk into my bathroom. Apparently, Thor was coming today with Jane and her intern Darcy. After taking a shower to get the whipped cream out of my hair; I dried my hair and I wanted to look fairly descent, so I put on my favorite black ripped skinny jeans and my black army shirt and tan jacket with combat boots before retreating back downstairs.

As I walk onto the floor. I see the cleaning crew packing up; there wasn't any whipped cream left. It looked darker in the room now sense it didn't look like a winter wonder land anymore. I walk over to Sam. She shrinks into the couch.

"You don't have any cream or pies do you?" She asked. I smile.

"No, Sam. I do not." I tell her; holding up both my hands to show her. She smiles and sits up.

"Good." She says in a sweet tone.

~0~

A few hours later I hear the elevator door ding and look up from my book. Yes, I was reading a book, book. Not an electronic one. It opens and I see Thor walk out first in some actual earth clothing! Jane followed and so did Darcy. Pepper looks up from the counter; she was getting out plates and stuff for the 5 pizzas we ordered, with cheese sticks.

"Oh-, you're here!" She walks up.

"Yeah, finally." Jane sighs, hugging Pepper. Darcy was looking around and Thor was eyeing the pizza boxes. Pepper glanced at me; who was looking a bit frightened by the newcomers.

"Oh, um. We have a guest here." She waves me over. I get up and walk over. "This is Kate." She says with a smile; her hands on my shoulders. Jane shakes my hand.

"Hi, I'm Jane." She says. She glanced behind her. "Oh, and this is… Darcy." She says.

"Sup." Darcy holds up a peace sign. I smirk. Thor was actually over by the pizza boxes now, and was about to slip a hand into the box when Pepper lightly slapped him.

"Ah, ah, ah! Now til everyone gets down here." She says sternly. "And, Thor." Pepper says pointing to me. "This is Kate." He turns to me and smiles.

"I am Thor, or Asgard." He greets. I smile and nod. I mouth a _pretty cool _to Pepper. She chuckles and gets out some napkins.

"Jarvis, tell everyone to hurry up and get down here!" She says.

"As you wish Ms. Potts." He responded.

~0~

Dinner was fun. Thor eats at least two of the five pizzas and Clint and Tony couldn't stop arguing over who got the last slice of chocolate cake.

"I saw it first I should get it." Clint says.

"Well, I was living in _my_building first, so I technically **own **the little slice of goodness!" I couldn't stop laughing as I watched their little fight. Eventually Thor just picked it up and shoved it into his mouth. The room grew quiet and Tony was the first to speak up.

"What. The hell." He said. Clint snorted, and Natasha rolled her eyes.

…

Soon after dinner Jane and Thor had to go. I felt a bit sad. It was fun having them around! And Darcy was a riot, I would miss her. But she gave me her number so we can text. I stood back as they said their goodbyes and watched them go. The room grew quiet and everyone stared at the door for a minute.

I go over to the fridge to get some water; I open it and see a familiar sight. Whipped cream can. I feel the corners of my mouth twitch into a smile and I take the can out of the fridge. I creep up behind Steve and squirt it at him. It hits the side of his head and he flinched. I snort along with Clint.

He turns to me, looking fairly pissed off. I chuckle.

"What? Now were even!" I say. He cracks a smile, and a sigh.

"You just had to have the last word didn't you?" He says whipping it off. Pepper immediately walks up.

"That means there will be no more whipped cream throwing in this Tower!" She makes clear.

"Aw." Me and Clint whine. She shakes her head, handing Steve a paper towel.

~0~

After going into my room and locking my doors so I didn't wake up with whipped cream anywhere near me, I got into some shorts and an oversized T-shirt. I snuggled into my bed and smiled before closing my eyes.

**There's your chapter! I hope you liked it! And I know Thor's appearance was a bit short but knowing him he probably has Asgardian things to attend to… and- well…yeah. There was a bit of bonding time between Kate, Steve, and Clint so if you want more of that or I can do some of her with other people too, please review and let me know! So! I know you will be glad to hear it when I say, you will find out Kate's ability in the next chapter! Please review if you like it!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

**I told you, you would find out Kate's ability in this, so I shall keep my promise! This chapter will be a lot longer, so please bear with me! Enjoy this chapter!**

About a week and a half had gone by sense Fury's little visit… I really despise that guy. I listened to what Sam said; I was making the best of the time I had with them. I did pranks with Clint, sparred with Natasha, and took the same running route with Steve.

Since then; the days have been going by really fast. Not knowing when Fury will have me kicked out is keeping me on edge. Everyone could tell, and they would try to ease my conscious by distracting me with something to do… That just made it worse.

I continued to sketch out Stark Tower in my sketch book when I hear something going on outside my door. I lean out; listening on the conversation.

"_You ask her. I'm stayin right here." _I could tell that was Clint.

"_You're such a weirdo, I'm going in." _That was Natasha. I quickly look back at my sketch book; hearing my door open. "Hey Kate." She says. I turn around. "Were going to go get shwarma for everyone. Wanna come?" I grin and nod.

"Sure, but let me get dressed first." I was still wearing my Iron Man pajama pants that Tony insisted I get, and a tank top, despite it being 4pm. She gives a nod.

"Meet you in the lobby." I nod and she closes the door. I run to my closet and look through my clothes. I pick out some jean shorts, a tan shirt that said **ARMY **and my black combat boots, before running to the bathroom the get changed.

~0~

I walk out of the elevator and see Natasha and Clint waiting. Natasha sees me and smiles. I smile as I walk up beside them. We walk out the door and across the street before making our way to the joint.

A few minutes later we arrived. I follow Clint in while Natasha does the talking to get our food. We wait a few minutes before getting our food. Clint hands me two bags and Natasha grabs a few and Clint grabs the remaining two. We walk out of the store when Clint drops one of them.

"Oh-, shit…" He leans down to pick up the splattered food. Natasha rolled her eyes with a huff.

"How the hell did you manage to drop that?" She asked.

"I don't know!" He says in a childish tone.

"You were holding one in one hand and one in the other, how could you…-"I zone out of the conversation as I'm looking at my surroundings. I see a several people entering the park and some exiting. A few people pass in front of us and my view of the park is blocked for a second. I lean to the left; and see something. A mother and her daughter; who looked about 4 were entering the park. I smile, remembering the times my mom would take me to the neighborhood park.

But that moment ended when a guy came out of nowhere and grabbed the mother's purse. I tense when I see her shout at the man to let go. The daughter had run behind the mom. I drop the food and run across the street toward them while Natasha and Clint are still talking.

…

Clint picks up the food and throws it in the trash.

"I'll go buy a new one, Kate could you-"He turns and see Kate gone; and the food sitting on the bench beside them. He looks around. Natasha furrows her eyebrows; looking around too.

"Now where'd she go?!" He asked sounding confused. A scream fills the air as Clint and Natasha's heads jerk to the left seeing the guy trying to now grab the mother. Clint huffs before the both of them run over.

"Hey!" Natasha yells. They were almost on the other side of the street when a big animal leaps out of the bushes. Clint and Natasha come to a complete stop.

It was a Bengal Tiger. It growls and pieces the air with a chilling roar as it jumps in front of the guy and bats at him with claws sheathed. The guy yelps; jumping back and falling; and the purse goes flying. Clint and Natasha watched in shock as the Tiger doesn't show any aggression toward the man, just giving plane warning signs to back the hell off.

The guy kicks at the Tiger but doesn't reach as he is scooting back. The mother was in shock; lying in the grass. When the man had let go of the purse she flew back to the ground. She was breathing fast and the daughter was looking mortified. Clint runs over behind the mother and child.

He gently grabs her arms and pulls her back to her feet and steps in front of them. Natasha walks up beside him. The guy yells and gets up before fleeing. The tiger gives one last roar in his direction before turning to the mother and child.

It looks to its left; seeing the purse and pads over; picking it up in his mouth. It turns and walks toward them. Clint holds his arm out in front of the mother and her daughter in a protective manner. The Tiger stops and stares at Clint; then his arm, and then to the mother and child. It was about 10 feet away from them. Natasha was holding the girls hand when she lets go and runs out in front of them. Clint doesn't see her til its too late goes to grab her but she runs over to the Tiger.

"Tigger!" She squeals. The Tiger lets the girl take the purse and she pats its head. The Tiger nudges her face with a purring noise and she giggles. The adults look at the two of them in shock; mouths open. The girl waves bye to the Tiger and runs back to her mother. Clint slowly had lowered his arm. The mother leans down, looking close to tears; holding out her arms from her daughter. The girl giggles and toddles over to her. "Here's your purse mommy." She says. The mother pulls her into a hug and picks her up with a smile.

Clint and Natasha stood off the side. They turn to the Tiger; who was just standing watching the little family. By the way it eyed the two; it looked like a glimmer of sadness appeared in its eyes. It turns to Natasha and Clint and gives them a calm look with its piercing eyes. They could see now that one was dark blue and the other ice blue. It's gives them one last look and runs off into the bushes. Clint and Natasha had a staring moment before turning back.

The mother walks up to them with the girl in her arms. "Thank you so much." She says, putting a hand on Clint's shoulder Clint smiles.

"Don't worry about it." He assures her. Natasha gives a nod and she walks toward the road at a fast pace to call a taxi. Now Clint and Natasha noticed camera crews were there and had gotten a bit on film. They roll their eyes before walking across the street and disappearing into the crowd; taking off their hoodies so no one would recognize them.

They walk a block, keeping an eye out for Kate.

…

I run around a corner; breathing heavy. _Well that was interesting. _I thought. I keep walking and look ahead to see Natasha and Clint with the bags of food. I run up to them, trying not to breathe hard like I was doing something elsewhere. Clint looks at me with a priceless face.

"Where the hell were you!?" He raised his voice in a playful manner. I shrug, trying to slow my breathing.

"I uh, thought you were behind me." I say. _I hope they'll by it. _I thought. Clint gives me a look that he shares with Natasha.

"Alright then, here carry that." He nods; then hands me two bags. I smile and nod; following them back. _Well that was easy. _

~0~

Back at the tower I was helping Pepper with something on her computer at the bar; when Natasha, Steve, and Clint were on the opposite side of the room on the couches.

…

"She's lying." Natasha says casually; looking at Kate with a straight face. Clint turns to her.

"Well of course she is. You really think she dropped the food and just kept walking?" He says. Steve had an eyebrow raised.

"I'm sorry, did I miss something?"

"When we were getting food, this dude was trying to take this woman's purse, and the good people we are; had gone over to help." Clint says with a smirk.

"Except a _**Bengal Tiger**_beat us to it." Natasha finishes. Steve took in a breath; holding it like he was about to speak.

"Wait-, so…" He starts.

"It didn't hurt them, it chased the guy away and acted like a house cat after that! Loving up to the mother's daughter..." Clint says with a weird face. Steve just nods; then looks at Kate, and then back.

"So what does she have to do with this?" He asked. Clint and Natasha exchange glances.

"We don't know exactly, but she disappeared right before it all happened and then just appeared out of the blue after it was over, plus gave us a pretty lame excuse as to why she ran off." Clint says. Steve raised an eyebrow.

"What are you implying exactly? That Kate's the Tiger?" He says with a smirk. Natasha rolls her eyes.

"Hey! Anything's possible." Clint defends; pointing at him.

…

I gulp, over hearing their conversation.

"Hey, Pepper. I'll be right back." I get up and walk to the elevator. Pepper watches me go.

"Um, ok. Just, be back soon were gonna eat." I give a nod and walk into the elevator; catching a glimpse of Clint, Steve, and Natasha glance at me.

~0~

I run to my desk and pick up my phone; calling a number. It rings a few times.

"Hello?" I hear Sam's voice.

"Sam! There on to me." I say.

"W-what?" She says.

"My ability. There on to me, help!" I say. There's silence for a minute.

"How did they get closer to finding out?"

"They saw me." I say.

"They saw you shift?!" She says. I sigh.

"No, after that. I kinda disappeared right before, and then came back right after." I say.

"Ah, well that makes sense." She says.

"Yeah…"

"So what were you doing exactly?" She asked.

"I saved this lady and her daughter from getting robbed." I say.

"Oh yeah? Did you enjoy it? - being the hero." I hesitate, rethinking the whole experience.

"Yeah, I guess I did." I say after a minute.

"Well, you could always do that you know; be a hero…Just don't get caught!" She adds. I grin.

"Will do. I'll give it a try." I say bye and hang up before retreating down stairs.

~0~

**Two days later….**

I woke up to the sunlight in my face. It had been a couple days sense my first save. It felt nice to do some good around here. I sit up and rub my eyes; swinging my feet off the side of the bed. I get up and grab my running shoes, shorts, and shirt before walking to the bathroom to change.

A few minutes later I come out of the bathroom, teeth brushed, dressed, and my wavy hair up in a ponytail. I walk to the elevator; pushing the down button and wait for the door. A few seconds later it opens and I walk in. I wait for the door to open and walk out; seeing Steve waiting at the front door. He turns when I walk up.

"Ready?" He asked.

"As I'll ever be." I reply. He smirks and we walk out the door and pick up a jog.

~0~

An hour later, we were jogging around a bend in the park. I was getting much better at this running thing… well, I knew he was going a lot slower than he normally does when I'm taking his route but, you understand what I'm getting at. We pass a few trees when I heard something. I look around Steve as we're running and see a guy running to a car will a young child; around 2 maybe. It was crying and I could hear police sirens in the distance. A man and woman ran out screaming and yelling. I have extremely good hearing because of my ability.

I remember Sam's words; then forgot about a very important variable that will get in the way. _Great, he's not gonna let me out if his sight._ I thought. I look around for some kind of distraction. I see a water fountain.

"Keep goin I'll catch up." I slow down to a stop. He turns and stops.

"Where are you going?"

"Just to that fountain." I say. He raises an eyebrow.

"We had a water break 5 minutes ago." He says with a smirk. I hesitate.

"…Well, I'm still thirsty." I say, making my point. He puts his hands up in surrender.

"Alright, I'm going left, so you know." He says. I nod. He turns and continues. I look around for people before running into the bushes.

...

Steve continues to run after he took the left turn. Suddenly a cry fills the air and he jerks his head around to his right. A big cat ran across the street and took a flying leap onto a pickup truck bed. He furrows his eyebrows as he runs to the edge of the road. The big spotted cat roars in a man's direction as he was running toward said truck with a child firmly under his arm. He comes to a dead stop seeing the big cat. A low growl comes from the cat; its ears all the way back on its head. The man lunges for the truck door and the cat roars at him; batting at him with claws unsheathed. The man curses and the cat growls and leaps; jumping off the truck in front of him. The guy drops the kid and runs for a car. The cat runs forward and the kid falls onto it, it hissed at first from the weight, and then sets the child down gently by the shirt. After nudging the kid; and seeing the parents run up, the cat growls and runs after the man; leaping onto his back and knocking him to the pavement. The guy yelps as he twists over; the cat on his chest. It roars up right into the man's face; showing the whites of its teeth.

Police cars roll up and officers exit their vehicles; locking down the area around the scene. Police hold their guns up to the cat and man. The cat's ears perk up at seeing the officers. It bites down on the guy's sleeve. He yells for it to let go, punching and kicking but the cat ignores it as it pulls the guy toward the officers. The officer's watch as it drops the man down at their feet before giving them a look. The officers don't lower their guns but their fingers were slowly coming off the trigger. One officer puts his gun away and grabs the man slowly while eyeing the cat; putting him in hand cuffs. He gives a slightly confused but grateful smile and a nod before the other officers get him to their car.

The cat looks around; seeing camera crews and tons of people that had watched the whole thing. The cat takes a few steps toward the park. It looks around and someone catches its eye. Steve was looking at the cat in shock. The cat stops; mid step. Staring at him, its ears perk up, and its eyes go wide. Steve could now see that the Leopard had two different colored eyes; one dark blue and one ice blue. They had a moment of just staring til the cat walks toward the park entrance and runs across; disappearing into the bushes.

~0~

Steve watches the cat run into the bushes, before looking around. Kate hasn't come back yet. He runs over to the path, looking both ways. Suddenly, Kate runs around the corner at a run and stops.

"Where'd you go?" She says, breathing heavy. He blinks a few times before finding his voice.

"I was-, just..." He trails off. Rethinking what just happened. Then he realized something. "Where did _you_ go?" He asked. Kate raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean; I took a left like you said." She says.

"We were going that way." He points in the opposite direction. Her eyes get a bit wider and she gulps once.

"W-We were?" She asked. He gives a slow nod. She stares at him for a minute. "Uh,... Oops." She says with a nervous smile. Steve just gives her a slow nod.

"Let ahead back." He says. She smiles and they pick up a jog. _What was that all about?_ He thought.

~0~

Back at the tower, we had an extremely quiet ride up to the communal floor. Once the door opened I walked quickly over to the fridge, wanting to get away from any question Steve might ask. He sat down on the couch while I was at the fridge; drinking a cup of milk from the night before.

"So, that whole time, you were getting a drink of water? And didn't hear the Commotion going on at the entrance?" Steve finds his voice. I stop drinking my milk; setting it down on the counter.

"Yeah, what commotion?" I ask. I knew I was a really, really, REALLY bad lair, but maybe I could steer him off.

"A jaguar or leopard… whatever it was; stopped a kidnapping in broad daylight, out of nowhere." He states notch handedly." I gulp.

"Uh, wow. Wasn't expecting that. What happened?" I lean against the counter. He shrugs; standing up and walking over.

"Well..." He pauses with a sigh. "Some guy had taken this kid when a big cat jumped into the bed of a truck and refused to let the guy leave. " He says. I nod slowly. "Then it dragged the man over to the police to be taken away." He adds. I nod, feeling uncomfortable. _I really hope he's not catching on._ I thought.

"That's really interesting, but uh-, I'll be right back." I back up; making my way to the elevator and heading to my room.

~0~

I walk over to my phone and call up Sam. I hear it ringing before someone picks it up.

"Yes Kate?" Sam says warily.

"Yeah, Hi. Uh, yeah, so about what you said a few days ago... Do you really think this is a good idea?" I ask nervously.

"Kate, it's up to you." You said yourself you like saving people, that it makes you happy. So if that's what you like doing then do it." She says. I hesitate my response.

"Ok, it's just... There getting closer to figuring me out and I don't know if I should tell them." I say.

"Well, do you trust them?"

"Yeah, I guess so. But it's not them I'm worried about. It's SHIELD."

"Ok, so if you really don't want anything getting out, I would wait a bit. And when you're ready to tell them, you can." She says in a reassuring voice.

"Ok then. - But... What if they find out before I'm ready to tell them?" I ask.

"Just explain it to them, they'll understand Kate." Sam says. I sigh and nod.

"Ok, thanks Sam." I say.

"Don't mention it." I smile and hang up. I put my phone on my nightstand and sit down at my desk for a moment: looking out the window. _This is complicated. _

~0~

"She's up to something." Steve starts. Natasha and Clint were sitting on the couches along with him.

"Oh, you just caught on to that now did you?" Clint says in a happy voice. Steve sends him a glare.

"So, she wasn't there for the whole thing?" Natasha asked. Steve shook his head.

"No, she needed another water break after our first one five minutes before."

"Was she showing signs of being tired?" Clint says. He shakes his head again.

"Actually, she was picking up the pace a bit today. She wasn't breathing hard; didn't even break a sweat." He says. Clint furrows his eyebrows; thinking.

"We need to get more information. Just, let's keep an eye on her." She says to the both of them. They all nod.

~0~

**3 days later…**

I looked over the water as the sun was going down. Pepper and I were spending some quality time together; she's been so busy at work we have hardly seen each other all week. And I wanted to get away from Natasha, Clint, and Steve sense they were practically stalking me around.

Pepper walks up with two ice creams. I smile as she hands me my soft served vanilla cone. She got strawberry.

"Thank you." I say. She smiles.

"You are very welcome." She says; raising her chin with a smile. I laugh. "So how have you been?" She asked; turning to me. I hesitate; looking over the water, I turn back and smile.

"Good. I've been good." I say. She smiles.

"I'm glad to hear it." She says. We stand in silence for a minute. I look over the water again. Despite the smelly city, this was beautiful. The way the sunset reflected off the water really put my mind at ease.

I look over the water somewhat behind Pepper. Something caught my eye and my facial expression goes dark. I could see a boat slowly sinking at the mouth of the bay. I glance back at Pepper quickly. I clumsily lick my ice cream and it gets all over my face. Pepper laughs.

"Oh!-, here, let me get you a napkin." I smile.

"Thanks Pepper." She smiles and leaves. I swipe the ice cream off my face and look toward the water. I look around me seeing no one looking in my direction. I crawl under the railing and jump into the water.

~0~

Pepper comes back with several napkins but stops up short when no one is there. She looks around.

"Kate?" She calls. Pepper starts walking around; looking for the teenager.

People start walking past her toward the railing; taking out there phones and looking with mouths open. She turns and sees what's causing the commotion. There was a fishing boat sinking into the mouth of the bay. Fins could be seen in the water.

Pepper didn't know what to do; she kept an eye out for Kate as she watched. Someone behind her dialed 911, or whoever you'd call in that kinda if emergency.

...

The fisher men that were on the boat had to jump; the boat sunk into the bay and out of sight. The shredded water as they kept wary eyes out for any uninvited sea life. Suddenly, a small fin appears in the water. One of the fisher men points at it as it circles them in deadly silence. The fin makes a half circle; now coming toward them. They panic; swimming back as fast as try could when suddenly, a different animal joins the scene. It rams the shark and bites down on its tail. Black and white splotches could be seen on it.

It was a killer whale. The Orca bites on the shark's tail, making the shark move around, trying to face the whale. The Orca suddenly flips over; taking the shark with it. People watch in awe as the shark enters tonic. The shark clams and goes into the drug like rest. The whale was still upside down. The whale lets go; allowing the shark to regain itself and swim off. The whale swims up to the sailors; making several squeaking noises. The sailors look confused. The Orca swims up beside them; it's front fin in front of them. One sailor swims forward and holds onto the fin.

The other sailors just watch. The Orca blows; sending spray into the air. The sailor's takes that as a hurry it up and hold onto the fin. The Orca starts to swim back to the railing when the people were standing; Pepper had gotten to the front. It swims up beside the rail and people reach out to pull the people up. Once they were all on, Camera crews seemed to have arrived before any law enforcement did. The Orca squeaks and waves to them. There are several "Aw!"s from the crowd til the Orca swims off.

Pepper got a picture and was going to show it to Kate, when she found her. She looks down at the two pictures she took. She got one of the left side of its face and one of the right side of its face. She noticed something different. The Orca's eyes were to different colors. One was an icy blue and the other a dark navy blue. She smiles at the pictures. Then she remembers what she was supposed to be doing. Pepper walks away from the scene and looks for Kate.

...

I run around the ice cream stand and see Pepper walking frantically around looking for me. I run up and she sees me... Soaking wet.

"Kate?! Where were you?" She asked me in a worried voice. I take in a deep breath.

"I was watching that whale when I got pushed over the railing!" I say in shock. She looks at me in shock too.

"Who?!" She says in a protective tone.

"I don't really know, I think someone bumped me when walking by and I fell in." I say; my teeth chattering. It was August, so slightly cold. She takes off her jacket and gives it to me.

"Let's head back." I nod and we go to the road to call a taxi. _That was easier than I'd thought it'd be! _

~0~

We walk back into the tower and everyone was there, including Tony and Bruce who came up to get a quick bite.

"What happened to you?" Clint smirked. I give a sarcastic laugh.

"Ha-ha." I say.

"Kate was pushed over a railing." Pepper says. Everyone furrows their eyebrows.

"Wait, what?" Steve spoke up.

"Well, this Orca saved these sailors from a sinking ship. I was looking for Kate right before but she had already fallen in I guess. I found her right after the Orca left." She says; rubbing my back. _You could have worded that any other way Pepper! _I say in my head.

Clint, Natasha, and Steve exchange glances. I gulp.

"I'm gonna go change." I say; hurrying to the elevator. Pepper smiles at me. Clint, Steve, and Natasha get up and walk over.

"So, you didn't know where Kate was the whole time that Orca was there?" Clint asked. Pepper shook her head.

"Well, you don't need to make it sound like I was being irresponsible." She says in a playful tone. They exchange glances again.

"About that." Clint laughs. "We've all had our 'disappearing Kate' moments." Clint says. She raised an eyebrow, and then shakes her head.

"I got these pictures." She says, holding out her phone. They all look at them and they're eyebrows shot up.

"I saw that same thing!" Clint and Steve say at the same time. They look at each other.

"Wait, the whole light blue dark blue eye thing?" Clint says to him.

"Yeah, I saw the same thing on a different animal." He says. Clint laughs.

"Whoa."

"This is getting weird." Natasha mumbles, rubbing her head.

"So, we've all seen the same set of eyes on several different animals?" Pepper says. They all nod.

"Kate defiantly has something to do with all this." Clint says in a low voice. Pepper raised an eyebrow. Clint looks at her.

"Long story…." He says. She gives a slow nod before walking to the kitchen to talk to Tony; who was stuffing the last piece of chocolate cake from the night before into his mouth.

~0~

I come out of the bathroom after I took a shower. _I have to tell them. _I thought. _They're going to find out sooner or later anyway. I can't stand stalking around anymore. _I say in my head. _If they ask about it, I have to tell them._

I then realize what I'm saying and thoughts of SHIELD pop into my head. I need another source! I pull out my phone and dial Sam.

"Kate, what is it now? Who did you save?" She says in a tired but playful voice.

"I think I'm gonna tell them if they ask. They know that I'm involved somehow, and I can't hide it anymore. I just don't know what to do about SHIELD." I say.

"Well, I would tell the Kate. If you feel comfortable with them knowing, then you need to tell them before you change your mind. And don't worry about SHIELD. If you don't want them knowing I'm sure they can figure something out." She tells me. I swallow.

"Ok, wish me luck."

"Break a leg!" I grin and hang up. I make my way to the elevator.

~0~

I walk onto the communal floor, taking a deep breath. I see everyone at the table eating. I take a seat next to Pepper, Clint was across from me and Steve and Natasha on either sides of him. Tony was next to Pepper and Bruce at the center/end of the table.

"Ok, Kate. We need to talk to you-"

"About my ability?" I finish; swallowing. There is silence.

"Yeah." Natasha says. I nod.

"I'll tell you." I say. Clint asked. It looked as though they were leaning in to hear it like I would whisper it or something. Tony was half may to putting a carrot into his mouth while everyone else had put the forks down waiting for me to speak. _Oh god, this is it. _I thought. Natasha was giving me a look, like saying "well?" playfully. Clint looked excited. Steve was the only one who looked pretty calm about it, that actually helped me a bit. Bruce was just looking at me over his book. I take a deep breath.

"I'm a shape shifter."

**Boom. There it is. Yep. Like it? Hate? PLEASE REVIEW! I need to know that this is good or not, and I'm open to requests! Thanks for reading. I know this was really long, but so much happened but I promised you it would be in chapter 8. So, ya! **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Thank you so much for the reviews everyone! I will try to fulfill your requests. And ****kadrules2014 ****I had to borrow your thought and make it reality… ;) Enjoy the chapter!**

"I'm a Shape Shifter." Everyone's eyes widened. Tony started choking on the carrot he had put in his mouth. Everyone glances at him. He chokes on it for like 10 more seconds. I watched him wide eyed. _Was it that much of a shock!? _I thought.

"No shit." He blurts out after he got a breath. I smirk.

"That. Is. Bad ass." Clint holds out his fist and I pump it with mine.

"Wait-… so, you can-"Steve finds his voice.

"Shift into animals. Yeah." I finish. He nods slowly. Pepper looked shocked. Bruce looked intrigued in the conversation.

"So, were you born with this? Or was it experimental?" Bruce says. I shrug.

"I honestly don't know. I've had it for as long as I can remember." I admit. He nods, putting a hand to his chin.

"So why were you against telling us?" Natasha asked. I look at the table.

"Well, at the place." I start; refereeing to the ware house. "They, tortured me; and when I lose control emotionally, I can't control my ability." I say. She nods.

"So what did you think we were gonna do to you?" Clint asked. I shrug.

"I wasn't really worried about you all; it was SHIELD I was worried about."

"Well, that's understandable after Fury's visit." Steve says. I give a nod.

"What happens exactly?" Tony asked. "Do you hulk out like Banner?" He jokes. Bruce rolled his eyes.

"Actually, it's kinda like that." I say. He stops laughing. "When I lose control, the first animal that pops into my head I change into. From there, I'm gone. It all depends on the animal's behavior." I say. "So, if it was a bunny. Nothing would really happen. But if it was something like a bear or a wolf…" I trail off. They all nod. "But if I'm in control then my mind is still in the animal. Even if I'm not in control I can still contain some of it." I add.

"So, that was all you. The tiger, the leopard, the Orca…" Steve says. I nod.

"Yeah, sorry I ditched you all." I say with a smirk. I remember one other. "Oh, uh… also, about those dogs." I start. Everyone raised an eyebrow. I laugh. "Yeah, I didn't get that injury in…. well, human form. I fought them off in wolf form." I admit with a straight face.

"Really? So, you were protecting Sam… did she know?" Natasha says. I nod.

"I didn't know that she knew, but I had to take that chance." I say quieter. Pepper puts an arm on my shoulder.

"It was a brave thing to do." She tells me. I give a small smile.

"So, when did you start the saving spree?" Clint says with a smirk.

"Well, the first one was with you guys and the whole Tiger thing." I say. "Then when I was running with you." I look at Steve. "And there were a few others over the days…" I gulp. "I was kinda sneaking out during the night." I admit. Steve sighed.

"So that's why you were falling asleep during our run." He says. I smile with a shrug.

"Yeah…" I scratch the back of my head. We were all quiet for a minute.

"So… demonstration?" Clint grins. I smile.

"Sure." I shrug. "That's ok right?" I turn to Pepper.

"Yeah, kid. Its fine, now amuse us." Tony buts in. I smile and get up, then go behind the counter and kneel down.

…

Everyone leans up; trying to see. A German shepherd suddenly walks out from behind the counter.

"Whoa." Clint says. The dog walks up and sits by the table. "Can it understand us?" Clint says to everyone. The dog barks. Clint turns back and pets its head.

"You know that's _Kate _your petting right?" Natasha says with an eyebrow raised. Clint shrugs.

"It's technically a dog, Nat." He states. She sighs and pets the dogs head.

The dog looks to table and walks over and crawls under the table; lying down. Everyone looks under the table with a smirk.

"So… anyone want this last burger?" Pepper says after everyone looks back up. Clint goes out to grab it when a dog head pops up and grabs it off the plate.

"Hey!" Clint says. He gets up and chases the German shepherd around the table in circles.

"Give it up Clint." Steve says with a smirk.

"No way! That's my burger." He says in a childish tone. The dog runs behind the counter and takes it in one bite; swallowing it then licks its lips.

Clint sits back down with a frown. Suddenly, the German shepherd comes back; this time taking Steve's burger off his plate. He tries to grab it but the dog runs back behind the counter. Clint does a fist pump.

"Ha! Don't like you food being taken don't you!" He says. The dog disappears behind the counter.

…

I stand up. Then walk back over to the table.

"What's with the burger theft?" Clint says. I shrug.

"I was hungry." I say, taking a bite of my burger. Steve and Clint exchange a glance.

"Does your ability have a limit?" Natasha asked. I shrug.

"Well, actually. I don't know the limit. I can also do extinct animal too now. Soon enough, I might be able to do fictional animals." I say.

"Interesting, so you set your own limits." Bruce says more to himself.

"Precisely."

"Wow." Pepper says. I smile.

"Yeah, I guess it has that effect on people."

"Kate, we have to tell Fury." Natasha says. I hesitate before nodding.

"I know." I say.

"Don't worry; we won't let him take you to the sand box." Clint says. I grin.

"Well that's a relief." I say with a laugh. We sit and talk for the rest of dinner. After that I went to my room and logged my day. I called up Sam too; telling her that I told them. She was happy for me, and reminded me to make the best of the time. I forgot about that. I would probably be leaving soon.

I crawled into bed after getting dressed and pulled the covers up to my chest. I smile and close my eyes.

~0~

Coulson walks up to Fury. They had found out Kate's ability. Fury turns when he walks up.

"Tell me you have good news." He says. Coulson nods.

"We have her ability. She can shift into animals… Any animal to be precise, including extinct ones." Coulson tells him. Fury shows no emotion.

"Based on your report you don't think she's a threat, is that correct?' Fury asked.

"Sir, I do not." Fury is quiet for a moment.

"Get her in a foster home. The sooner she's gone the better." Coulson gives a nod and leaves.

~0~

The next morning I woke up extra early. 30 minutes earlier than normal. I get out of bed and grab my shorts, shoes, and shirt before running to the bathroom. I come out a few minutes later; dressed. I run for the elevator.

I walk out of the elevator and see Steve sitting in on of the chairs in the lobby. He looks up and sees me. He smiles; standing up.

"Ready to go?" He asked. I nod. We walk toward the door and toward the park.

A few minutes later we walk into the entrance of the park. We start to jog and go a few meters when I turn to him.

"I'll race you to the lake." I say. He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, real funny Kate." He says.

"I'm serious!' I laugh. He looks ahead, then back at me.

"I'll give you a head start." I smirk and pick up a sprint. I hear him gaining. He passes me and I grin, running down a path through the trees.

…

Steve kept running when a furry mass runs up beside him. He looks down and sees a German shepherd running beside him. He raised an eyebrow. The dog speeds up and passes the lake right before he does. He slows down, breathing a little bit harder; watching the dog run into the bushes.

…

I walk out of the bushes toward him, with a smirk. He looks at me.

"Cheater." He says, rapping an arm around my shoulders as we start walking back. I laugh.

"No one said there were rules, but… I would have beat you anyway." I make a face. He shoves me playfully. We walk back onto the path and stop at the fountain. I push one of the buttons and drink the water. I drink a bit more and don't see him push the other button; making the water go right in my face. I gasp; my head shoots up and I make a face. He starts laughing. I smack his arm.

"Not funny!" I say, wiping water off my now drenched face.

"No, it was funny." He says. I roll my eyes and pick up a jog. He jogs up next to me, still chuckling to himself.

~0~

We walk out of the elevator, laughing when I see Agent Coulson. He turns with a small and brief smile.

"Ms. Sanders." He greets. I smile.

"Kate." I tell him. He gives a nod.

"I need to speak to you." He says. Steve gives a nod; putting a hand on my shoulder before walking over to Clint and Natasha. I follow Coulson into the elevator.

…

We walk out of the elevator and out into the lobby. We walk out and get into a SHIELD SUV outside the Tower. I close the door and turn to him.

"Ok, Kate. I didn't want to go out and say this in front of everyone just yet. And I don't know how else to do this but to just go out and say it. Y-"

"I need to go to a Foster Home?" I finish. He closes his mouth. "I knew it would happen eventually." I say; forcing a small smile. _I need to stay strong about this. _I thought.

"I found a very high rating Home. Best there is in the area." He says to me. I force another smile and nod.

"When?"

"Next week. I wanted to tell you as soon as possible." I nod.

"Do they know?" I ask. He shook his head.

"I'll tell them later tonight. Do you want to be there?" He asked. I shake my head.

"Just tell them after I call in for the night." I say. He nods.

"I'll make sure of it." He says.

"'Is that all Agent Coulson?" I ask.

"Phil, and say Kate, that is all." He gives me a smile. I smile back and get out of the car; heading back into the Tower. As I walk in my smile fades and a tear runs down my face.

**Like it? Hate it? Please review and let me know! OH! - Almost forgot. I'm starting this new thing. So, throughout the story I will as a question in the author message at the end of some chapters. You answer in a review and your answer might be put into the story! I want you all to be more involved! :) So here's the first one:**

**What is your favorite type of Cake?**

**Chocolate**

**Vanilla**

**Red Velvet**

**Coconut**

**Other (Type in if it's not listed) **

**There's the first question. Depending on how many answer, I'll use the one with the most picked. Hope you liked it! Check in for the next chapter too!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**Here's the next chapter everyone! Thank you for the reviews, and I'll see what I can do about your requests. I get several private messages too from people about requests for the story… I'll try my best to make you all happy :) **

I warily open my eyes the next morning. I look out my window. It was cloudy today. I groan and roll out of bed; taking my clothes to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, I walk out of the elevator and up to Steve. He smiles; I give a very small smile and we walk out the door. He stares ahead; then starts to glance at me.

"Something wrong?" He asked. I shake my head.

"I'm just tired." I say. He nods.

"Were you out saving someone again?" He smirks. I shake my head.

"No, actually. I just feel more tired than normal." I say; then yawn. He hesitates, and then nods. We walk through the park entrance and pick up a jog. I stare at the ground for a while. I don't see him looking at me.

"You know you can tell my anything right?" He says. I look up and force a smile.

"Yeah, I know." I say. He gives me a concerned look before giving a nod.

"Ok, then." He says; looking ahead. We jog in silence for a few minutes; jogging around some trees. "I was thinking we could go an extra lap starting next week." He says. I smirk.

"Did you forget already?" I say. He raised an eyebrow. "Remember? I'll be gone by next week." I say. He comes to a dead stop; I slow down; turning.

"What?" He asked. I raise an eyebrow.

"…Didn't Coulson tell you?" I ask. He shook his head.

"He didn't say anything last night." I let out a breath. I hesitate before saying anything.

"I'm going to the Foster Home starting next week. He said he was gonna tell you." I say. From there I couldn't tell his expression; in fact I don't even know if he was taking that in yet. I raise an eyebrow. "Uh, you ok?" I wave my hand in front of his face. He blinks and nods.

"Yeah, yeah… I just…." He trails off. I glance around.

"Wanna keep going?" I ask. He nods. We pick back up our jog. They rest of the way was silent.

~0~

I was in my room now. After we got back Steve kinda told everyone and Natasha and Clint had at Coulson for not telling them first. I could literally hear them through the vents. I didn't think they would take it that hard, I mean…. They must have tons of messed up people coming here… right?

I continue to sketch out my horse drawing while I listen to bits and pieces of the conversation. _I wonder who I will meet there. I hope I make some friends. _I_ t_hought. I look at my phone. It was only 10am. I sigh; looking out my window.

…

"Why didn't you tell us before you told her?!" Pepper yells. Coulson was quiet through all the yelling's her got from everyone.

"Did we really have to wait til she told one of us you were getting rid of her?" Clint says.

"Fury knew you would react this way so he wanted to keep it quiet." Coulson explains. They all exchange glances.

"So you weren't going to tell us, **again?!"** Natasha says. Coulson doesn't respond.

"Is she in her room?" Coulson asks.

"Yeah." Steve says. He nods.

"I'll come pick her up Monday." He says; standing up. They don't respond as he heads for the elevator.

…

I walk out of the elevator and into the gym. I walk over to the punching bags; putting my water on the bench I walk over to the bag in the corner. I start throwing a few punches.

"Nice technique." My fist hits the bag and I stop. I turn; looking at Steve; who I didn't hear come in.

"Thanks… my brother showed me." I say; I clench my jaw; looking back at the bag, thinking about him.

"So he taught you to fight?"

"Yeah, when he was home anyway." I say. He gives me a questioning look.

"He was in the Army." I tell him. He nods; I see his expression brighten a bit with the mention of Army.

"What's his name?" I blink back tears, taking in a shaky breath.

"James." I say. Steve nodded, and then sees the expression on my face. I could see it in his eyes; he could tell by my face that he was gone.

"Is there any chance he's-"

"No." I say. He swallows.

"Sorry."

"Its fine, its just-… he's been d-"I take in a shaky breath. "He's been dead for a few years now. He was killed in action overseas." I say. I look away for a minute; blinking away tears. "He had promised me he would take me to where he was based for my birthday a few years ago. I wanted to see it so bad." I couldn't look at him as I talked. I could barely hold it together. "He…" I cough out a sob. "He would have kept his promise." I start coughing out sobs and he walks over. I honestly didn't freakin care anymore. I wrap my arms around his waist and start bawling tears into his shoulder. He just hugs me back.

I had lost everything. My mom, my dad, my brother…. I had no one. No one left. And I was about to leave the only people left that I cared about. I honestly don't know how long I've been standing here. He eventually said something to me that involved heading for the elevator. We made it there and just kinda went down to the lobby and out the door. For a while we just walked. He had an arm around my shoulder the whole time and we just kinda talked about the better parts of it. The good memories I had of him.

At some point he asked me if I was hungry… I told him I wanted ice cream. Not that I was in the mood but surprisingly it made me feel better. We sat in that little ice cream shop for hours. He let me talk about whatever I was comfortable with.

I told him about when my brother first enlisted and how when he got accepted that my parents found it in the mail and were furious when he got home from school. (He was a senior at the time and I was in 6th grade) I also told him about how he would "train" me. He taught me how to throw a punch when I was 11. As I got older and he grew in the ranks he taught me a lot more. Battle tactics, modern warfare stuff, types of ammunitions used… Pretty much everything he leaned that wasn't classified… ok-, well… maybe he slipped a little on the classification.

I had always told my brother that I wanted to be just like him someday. He never doubted that I would be.

Around 5pm we had started heading back to the Tower. I was a quiet dinner. Natasha and Clint had a mission they left for that afternoon. Bruce and Tony had taken their food to the lab to eat. It was just Steve, Pepper, and I.

After I had eaten I called in early. I could tell by Pepper's face that she was worried. Thankfully after I went into the elevator I heard Steve start to explain.

Once I fell onto my bed comforter I didn't realize how tired I was. I wanted to cry more; just put all the pain I suffered in the last year into tears. But I couldn't. There weren't any tears left. I did eventually drift off; not bothering to get myself dressed or under the covers. I curled up; making myself as small as possible and closed my eyes.

~0~

**The next week….**

I carried my duffle bag out to the curb. Today was the day. I was leaving the Tower to get on with my life… or whatever life I had left. Sam was going with me to get dropped off. Coulson was waiting by the car.

I turn to everyone. Pepper was red in the face and her eyes rimmed with some barely visible tears. I smirk. She pulls me into a tight hug.

"Thank you for everything Kate." I smile; pulling out of the hug.

"I should be thanking you Pepper. After all, I wouldn't be here if you said something." I say. She nods, with a smile. Tony shakes my hand.

"Good luck kid." I smirk; giving a nod. He walks back over to Pepper. _Tough love. _I say in my head with a smirk. Bruce shakes my hand.

"Good luck Kate. It was a pleasure getting to know you." Bruce says. I smile.

"Same goes to you." I say. He gives a nod. I walk over to Clint and Natasha. Clint grins and pulls me into a hug.

"Promise to get into trouble for me there ok?" I give him a smile.

"You bet!" I fist bump him. I turn; hugging Natasha.

"Don't forget to make some friends too." She says to me. I smile.

"Don't worry I won't." She smiles and I walk over to Steve who was standing on her left. I smile and he pulls me into a hug.

"You be careful." He says in a playfully tone. I roll my eyes.

"I'm not that reckless." I say with a smirk.

"Good luck." I give a nod, then turn; walking toward the car. Coulson gives me a nod.

I get in and Sam gets in the other side. Closing my door; I put my window down; waving the them as we drive away.

~0~

We pull up in front of the foster home. I gulp. Sam looks at me and smiles.

"Don't worry. I'll come see you as often as I can." She says, putting an arm on my shoulder. I nod and get out. It looked like a prison. There was a fence and a tall building.

"It was the most highly rated home, Kate. So don't worry." Coulson says, like he knew exactly what I was thinking. I smirk. We walk toward the building. A woman with red hair came up to us.

"Welcome! I'm Ms. Williams. You must be Phil." She shakes his hand. She turns to me and smiled. "And you must be Kate!" She says cheerfully. I give a very small smile. This lady scares me. She's creepy… like a serial killer! I shake my head and furrow my eyebrows at my own thoughts. I look at Coulson, he gives a nod. I get my things and close the trunk. He gives me one last nod before getting in the car. I watch him drive away. Sam walked me in before leaving.

...

I walk into a room. Ms. Williams follows. I see three other girls there. A girl with dirty blonde hair looked up and smiled. There was a girl with black hair; with a red streak and a girl with auburn hair.

I look around the room. There were four beds counting one for me. The girl with dirty blonde hair had a girly set up. She had posters and make up stuff on a little night stand next to the bed. Pink was the main color.

The girl with black hair had a gothic looking set up. Dark, mysterious posters were on the walls and black sheets on the bed.

The girl with auburn hair had a nice little set up. There were skateboarding posters on the wall and one picture on a nightstand of two people; portably a couple. I look around the room. It wasn't half bad. There was a window by each bed and the spare bed had a window seat.

_I hope that's my bed._ I thought. Ms. Williams walks in front of me.

"Come here girls. We have a new member!" She says cheerfully. I roll my eyes. The auburn girl gets up first and comes over, the other two follow.

"This is Kate everyone." She introduces me.I give a small smile and a wave. They wave back to me.

"Well, go on! Introduce yourselves!" MS Williams laughed.

"My name is Scarlett." The auburn girl says. I smile, she holds out her hand and I shake it. The dirty blonde girl walks up.

"Hi, my name is Ashley." She says with a smile; I shake her hand. The girl with black hair walks up.

"Sup, I'm Jade." She says, I fist bump her. She smirks and sits on her bed. Ms. Williams looks at all of us and nods.

"Aright..." She turns to me. "The girls will tell you what you need to know, and you have a drawl to put your clothes in." She smiles; then leaves the room. I turn back to the girls. Scarlett smiles and points to the spare bed.

"Well, here's your bed." She walks over and I follow. "We get new stuff in every other week so over time you can decorate you space how you like." She says. I nod. I swallow.

"How's it food wise?" I ask. She shrugs.

"It's alright,... For a foster home anyway." Jade says, mumbling the last part. I smirk.

"So, Kate. What are some of your hobbies?" Ashley asked. I shrug.

"I can fight...uh; I can do a little bit of archery. I shoot, sketch, I skateboard..." I count them on my fingers. Scarlett raises an eyebrow.

"You skateboard?" She asked. I nod.

"I haven't in a while, but I do too." She smiles at me.

"Sweet, so do I!" She fist bumps me and I chuckle.

"So what's your story." Jade asked. I sat on my bed. I hesitate.

"I was kidnapped and held hostage for 8 months. My parents were killed shortly after I was found." I say. They look at me.

"Wow, haven't heard that one before." Ashley says. I shrug.

"Yeah, and it gets better. The government found me and I was living in a billionaire's tower for like two months." I say. Their mouths drop.

"Are you fudging serious?" Scarlett said. I nod.

"And don't even mention little orphan Annie. I am not like that at ALL." I make clear. We all laughed.

"That's crazy dude!" Jade says. I nod in agreement.

"That must have been nice." Ashley says. I hesitate before shrugging.

"It wasn't ordinary, I'll give it that." We sit in silence for a minute. Scarlett claps her hands together.

"Well, why don't you unpack?" I nod and put my duffle bag on the bed. The girls went back to doing what they were doing.

I start looking through my bag. I take out all my outfits as put them on the bed; folded nicely. I take out a few other things, including my skate board at the bottom of the bag, and my sketch book. Something catches my eye. I furrow my eyebrows and look in my bag. There was some kind of book. I pick it up and look at it. It had a black leather cover; no wording. I open it and a note falls out. I pick it up and read it.

_Dear Kate,_

_You have no idea how thankful I am for everything you have done for us. I know you will do get things some day and you will go far. Best wishes. _

_Pepper_

I smile and put the note on the bed. I open to the next page and a small gasp escapes my mouth.

It was a photo album. I look at all the pictures. It surprised me how she managed to get some of these. There was two pages of pics of me and Natasha, some of us talking, and some of me sparring with Natasha, I look at all the pictures. I was on the ground in most of them. I smile and go to the next page.

The next two pages had pictures of me and Clint. There was a few of him teaching me bow tips, and a few of us sparring. The second page was made up of me and Clint playing pranks. I grin and look at them. There was one of Steve covered in feathers and me and Clint falling off the couch laughing. And another of the lab after we covered it in toilet paper, the time when Tony almost killed us.

I chuckled at the memories. I turn the page and see the ones of me and Steve. There were some of us jogging. I furrowed my eyebrows at those. The only other person that jogged with us once was...Sam! I laugh to myself. _That Traitor._ I thought. There were a few of us using the punching bags and also some of us just sitting on the couch, talking. Then there was two of us smiling at the camera, then another, when I threw a pie at his face, then another when he threw a pie at my face. Next thing we knew the kitchen was covered in pie. Sam was trying to protect her phone during the whole thing. I guess she took more than that one picture.

That was fun to explain to Pepper when she got home. He face was priceless. I smile at the memories.

The next two pages contained pics of me in the lab with Tony and Bruce. There was one where I was sitting on the counter and Tony was testing a suit and it malfunctioned, he was flying around the lab; trying to get it under control. I was laughing in the picture.

There was also one where I had been messing with Bruce's stuff and set off a little explosion. Bruce was in the back ground looking shocked and I was smiling; ash and substance covered my face and clothes. I chuckled at the memories.

The last few pictures included lots of pics of everyone. They're ones of me and Pepper, some of me and Sam and me with the others.

I turn the page to the last picture and see a picture of all of us together. I remember when we took that picture. I smile and close it up. Putting it in the drawl of my nightstand, I put all of my clothes into my drawl and walk over to the window seat. I sit down.

"Nice view right?" Scarlett says. I nod; my mouth open. It was so cool. I look at all the buildings. I smile comes on my face when I see Stark Tower. I see my phone beep and turn it over.

_Pepper: We miss you already. :(_

I chuckle, typing a reply.

_Miss you guys too. _

I turn off my phone. I look back out my window. I watch as the clouds start to cover the sun. The light slowly climbed the side of the tower til the light was gone. I adjust myself on the cushion; my gaze lost on the place I use to call home.

**There's the chapter everyone. A lot happened and I know it was a bit long. Please review and let me know if you liked it.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**Here's your chapter everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews! You have no idea how happy they make me! **

_Beep beep beep beep_

"Jarvis, turn it off." I groan. I open my eyes to slits, and then close them.

_Beep beep beep beep_

"Jarvis!" I groan. I open my eyes all the way. I could see Stark Tower. I sit up, a bit concerned. I sigh. The thoughts started coming back to me. I was in the foster home. I let out a breath and look around; seeing Ashley, Scarlett, ad Jade still fast asleep.

I had fallen asleep in the window seat. My knees were tucked under me and I had a patched up blanket over me; my open sketch in my lap. I get up; putting the sketch book down and stretch. Turning off my alarm clock I yawn and stretch again. I quietly open my drawl and pull out my shorts and tank top before tiptoeing to the bathroom.

...

A few minutes later I get my sneakers from my bed side and walk toward the door. I walk down the stairs and toward the door.

_Maybe I would see Steve today on my run. I thought. If I couldn't see them all the time maybe they could run in mornings so I could see them._ I thought, my hopes brightening. I pass the office and see a woman with white hair sitting there.

"Oh- uh, Miss?" She calls. I stop and turn. "You cannot leave yet. It's 5am." She says. I gulp.

"We'll, I was just going to run." I explain.

"I'm sorry; you must wait til 10am for our exercise program and be assigned to a group." She says; then goes back to her work. I let out a disappointed breath; walking back toward the room.

...

I walk back up; talking off my sneakers and sitting back in the window seat. _So much for that._ I thought. _Who was I kidding in the first place? I couldn't expect them to drop everything to come see me. Some girl they found in a ware house with some stupid ability. They have way more important matters to attend to._ I thought.

I look down at my turned over sketch book that was open. _Did I draw something last night?_ I thought. I pick it up and slowly turn it over. I had drawn everyone. Clint, Natasha, Pepper, Tony, Steve, Bruce, Sam and even Thor, Jane, and Darcy. I realize it was a finished picture, my initials at the bottom.

I smile; closing the book and sliding it under the window seat cushion I was sitting on. I look out the window; seeing Stark Tower in the distance, thinking of what they were probably doing right now.

Clint and Natasha were probably sparring or on missions. Steve was on his run right about now, Tony and Bruce would be in the lab, and Pepper would be at work.

I hear movement behind me and turn. Scarlett shifts in her bed, making a face as the sunlight hits her eyelids. I give a small smile; watching her turn over, facing the other way.

~0~

A few hours later, I hear someone yawn. I look over; seeing Ashley swinging her feet off the bed; stretching. She glances at me.

"Good morning." She yawns. I smile.

"Morning." She stretches again, and then stands up.

"How long have you been up?" She asked; rubbing her eyes. I shrug.

"Few hours." I say. She nods; glancing at her alarm clock and raised an eyebrow.

"It's 8:30." She says. I nod. "How many hours?" She asked. I chuckle and shrug.

"I don't know, maybe 3 or so." I say; looking back out my window.

"Geash, early morning person." She mumbles. I smirk, eyeing the cars going by in front if the foster home.

~0~

After everyone woke up, we all headed to the eating area. I just followed everyone down and sat with them. They're at least 50 other people here. I had grabbed a tray in the tray line. It had a bowl of cereal, Cheerios to be exact. I smile. I love Cheerios. They had always been my favorite. I poured the carton of milk into the Styrofoam bowl and mixed it with my spoon.

"So, Kate." Jade starts. I look up; taking a bite if cereal.

"Who were you living with before?" I stop chewing, and swallow. I glance at her before looking down.

"I don't know." I say. She looked at my before chuckling.

"What do you mean? How could you not know?" She says in a tone that was setting me off a bit.

"I told you, it was the government. They wouldn't tell me anything." I say, mixing my cereal. Scarlett nudges Jade, seeing I wasn't comfortable with this topic.

"Well, there's a batch of new stuff coming in today, why don't me and you go have a look around?" She says. I just nod, my thoughts lost in my head.

~0~

After breakfast, Jade and Ashely went back to our room and Scarlett insisted I go with her to this thing.

"It's in this room." She says, pushing one of the double doors. We walk in and I saw what looked like a mini store.

_"This is it?"_ I thought, and then realized I said it aloud.

"Yep, you can take anything here if you have enough points." She says. I raise an eyebrow.

"Points?"

"Yeah, you earn points for stuff you do around here. Helping out with all sorts of stuff. I'll show you some but for now you can use my points. I got enough to share." She says; shouldering me. I smile as we start looking around.

She goes over to the clothes while I look in some of the bins in the corner of the room. I shift through one bin; seeing toys of all sorts, posters, picture frames, coloring books, etc.

I pick up a few things, moving them around and see a rolled up poster. I raise an eyebrow and pick it up. Unraveling it; I smirk when I see it is an Avengers poster. I hear footsteps behind me and keep my eyes on the poster.

"You a fan?" Scarlett said after a few seconds. I breathe a laugh.

"Something like that." Scarlett smiles, and then holds out a shirt. She holds it up to her. "What do ya think?" She asked. I put a hand to my chin; narrowing my eyes.

It was a white shirt that said 'Gaming Goddess. You may bow before me'

I smirk. "Yeah, I think it's defiantly you." I say. She smiles; putting it over her arm.

"Hey, you should get this." She says holding a shirt up to me. I glance down at it.

"No, I really don't need anything-"

"You have to get something on your first day!-, just, find something, anything!" She says with a smile. I sigh and nod, continuing to look through the boxes of stuff.

...

A while later I found a small framed picture. It was a picture of soldiers overseas and it said: "if you can't support out troops, feel free to stand in front of them."

My brother had the same picture but in poster form in his room. It was his favorite quote. Scarlett had gotten a few tops and found an old Nintendo DS with a Mario cart game. We were now heading back to our room.

We walk in the door; I close it behind us as Jade and Ashley look up from what they were doing. Jade was tuning her electric guitar that she had gotten and Ashley was painting her nails; sitting on her bed.

"What'd ya get?" Ashley got up; waving her hands to dry out her nails. I shrugged, Scarlett held up her shirts and DS. "That's Cool." She says. She looks at me. "How bout you?" I shrug.

"Just a picture." I say. She nods after a few seconds. I walk over; putting it on my nightstand.

"So Emily came by today again with her friends." Jade says.

"Uh, god. What'd she do and or say this time?" Scarlett sits on her bed.

"Nothing much, but I could hear her. She wrote losers on our door when you were gone. I cleaned it up." Ashley says. I raised an eyebrow.

"Who?" I ask. They look at me.

"Oh! That's right you have no idea what we're talking about." Scarlett walks over a sits on my bed with me. "Ok, so Emily Johnson is like Jade on steroids." She starts. I lean back with a questioning look.

"Hey!" Jade says. Scarlett looks at her.

"I'm just saying she has the whole Goth look but takes it to the next level." She says. Jade sends her a glare; then draws her attention back to her guitar. I nod.

"So why did they vandalize our door?" I ask. She shrugs.

"Don't know. They're messed up." She mumbles the last part. I chuckle.

~0~

The day was pretty boring. Scarlett said there was a field trip tomorrow though. The schooling program here was weird. If you were 15-17 then you didn't necessarily have to take park in the education program but you could go on their field trips around the city to learn stuff.

After getting into my tank top and sweat pants I crawled into my bed. So this is what life's gonna be like. Every. Day. I roll over in bed and star at the picture I got. I wish I could have lived at the tower. But I know I would be a burden on them. Plus there superheroes and can't stick around the look after me. Pepper's busy enough without a kid in the house.

_At least I got to know them._ I thought. I take a deep breath and close my eyes.

**There's you chapter everyone! I know it was kinda boring, but the next one will have some action. Please review and I have another question for you…**

**Which Avenger do you think is more responsible?**

**Please tell me who you think in the reviews!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**Thanks for the reviews everyone! And also thank you for telling me what you think for the question! I will make sure to keep them in mind as I write. What I'm gonna try to do now is include her thoughts thorough out so there not in italics. Enjoy!**

**A month later…**

Sometime has gone by. I'm not keeping track at all really. It had been getting easier at the Home. I mean, I have a part time job in the Home. Leave it to me to pick out the most boring job here. Ugh. Hey, the paper said security! I didn't think it meant watching the little kids go up and down stairs! What kinda heartless person would trick people into this!?... Ok, I know I'm zoning out right now.

"Here is the shoe room. It holds hundreds of pairs of shoes of the Jewish men, women, and children during the holocaust." I hear the tour lady say. Yeah so this is the third field trip I've been on. Turns out; the field trip was to DC. That was a boring 7 hour drive.

She continues to talk about the clothing and stuff during the holocaust. I'm not really listening. I kinda know all of this by heart anyway. Growing up with someone in the Military made this stuff second nature to me. WWII was my brother's favorite war, and then he kinda passed that on to me. Every school project I did was about WWII. My teachers would get so frustrated with me, especially my English teacher. She hated talking about war and stuff; she was kinda like a hippie. She wore lots of peace signs and stuff. In my opinion she was just plain weird.

We continue to walk through. I look around me; this was a really cool museum. I had been here once when I was little, I don't remember much from that trip though. I look past a few people; and then see a plaque on the wall slightly behind me; probably for soldiers killed in action. I loved looking at those. My brother and I would always look for them as try to see if we could find any of our relatives. Our family had tons of soldiers dating back to like the 1800's. But most of them fought in WWII. I slowly start to back up casually. Of course I'm stupid enough that I ran right into someone, seeing a book go flying across the floor.

"Crap, sir I'm so sorry." I say; we both go down to pick up the book.

"Don't worry. Its fine-" I froze. That voice was so familiar it's scary. I look up and see Steve. My mouth drops. His eyebrows shoot up. Oh. My. God.

"Wha-" I don't even know what to say right now. Why was he here? - wait, scratch that, why am I being stupid and not saying anything.

"Kate?" He says in disbelief. I close my mouth and swallow.

"S-Steve?!" I almost shout. We stand up straight and I hand him the book. "Uh-, he-, ugh...hi!" I'm stuttering like an idiot right now. He smiles.

"Hey, uh. How've been?" I shrug, holding back the urge to jump at him for a hug. God, I just realized how much I missed them all. It's been over a month and I almost forgot about the missing them part.

"Fine. The home's not as bad as I thought it'd be. What about you?"

"It's good.-"

"Kate, were heading out!" Our chaperon lady calls. Oh great. I sigh. I hold up a hand to her; telling her to give me a minute.

I don't want leave now. Ugh. Ooh! - wait! Idea! Ding ding ding!

"Hey, what you doing later?" I ask. He draws his attention back to me.

"Uh, nothing why?" He says with a bit of concern.

"Maybe we could get a run in tonight. I'm so desperate for a run it's not even funny." I tell him. He raised an eyebrow.

"You're talking about sneaking out?" He says; I hear a bit more concern in his voice. I shrug with a smirk.

"Yeah, we could catch up; you could tell me what's been happenin at the tower." I hope I convince him. He narrows his eyes for a moment. "Pleeeaasss...?" I say with a smile. He hesitates.

"Ok.-"

"Yes!" I whisper. He smirks.

"But if you get caught I can't do anything about it." He says. I nod. Thank the Lord! I run up; giving him a quick hug; then jogging to catch up with my group. I give him a small wave. He waves back as I walk up behind Scarlett, Jade, and Ashely. Scarlett turns; seeing me and jumps.

"Jesus Christ! Kate!-" she slaps my arm. Priceless. I start laughing.

"Come on, you could have heard me coming." I argue.

"Where did you go?!" She says, looking around. I shrug.

"Over to a different exhibit." I say. She narrows her eyes, and then nods.

"Oookkk." She says drawing the word out. Oh please, you wouldn't know who I was talking about if I told you.-… ok, maybe you would, but that depends on your knowledge of the topic.

We walk past a few other exhibits, heading to the air and space.

~0~

**Later that night…**

I open my eyes to slits. Ok, there all asleep. I slowly pull my covers back; swinging my feet over the bed. I feel the cold wood floor under my feet as I touch down.

_Creeeeaaakkk…_

Shoot! Stupid floor! I sigh, taking small quick steps to my drawer. I grab a pair of socks, sitting back down on my bed to put them on. If he forgot, I swear I will walk to the Tower tonight. I pull on my shoes and tiptoe to my window. There was a fire escape. I kneel down onto the cushion and unlock it. I take a deep breath. This better not be loud.

I pull on it slightly. Nothing. I pull a bit harder and it flies open and hits the top.

_Bang!_

"Shit!" I quickly crawl out and jump onto the fire escape; slamming the window down. I press my back the wall; leaning down so no one could see me.

"Wha-!?" I hear someone say. I put a hand up to my face. Crap. I kneel down as far as I can. I hear footsteps coming toward the window. I look up; seeing Ashley. She yawns; looking out the window. I gulp. I see her shrug and disappear from view. I let out a breath.

Thank. God.

I look around the ground. No one. I begin to crawl down the fire escape toward the ground.

~0~

It was dark and cold. I knew he would forget! God damit. I continue to walk around the park; my hands in the pockets of my jacket. I was wearing my boot cut jeans with sneakers and a T-shirt. If I get mugged Steve I'm so blaming you. I keep walking along the path.

Suddenly I hear rapped footsteps coming up behind me. My breath gets caught in my throat. Well shit, I'm gonna get mugged. Then Steve runs up beside me. Oh. I let out a breath.

"What the hell!" I say; slapping his arm. "I seriously thought I was about to get mugged or something!" I say. He laughs.

"Well sorry, I had to help Clint with something so I was a bit late." He argues. I roll my eyes.

"Oh please, if you were helping him with something it couldn't have been good." He chuckles. I put my hands back in my pockets. We walk in silence for a few seconds. "So, jog?" He nods. I take my hands back out of my pockets and we pick up a jog. "How are things at the Tower?" I ask. He shrugs.

"Ok, it's quieter." He says. I nod. You think that'd be a good thing but by the look on his face right now I don't think so.

"How is everyone?" He shrugs.

"There good. Natasha and Clint got back from a mission recently and Pepper actually just left for a business trip." I nod. "So how have you been?" I shrug. Please don't ask that, my life is pretty boring.

"Good, I've made some friends. And I have a part time jog there." He raised an eyebrow.

"A job? You?... have a _job_?" He says in disbelief. I scoff; shoving him. Not that he went far. Ok, it was like I tried to shove a brick wall…

"Thanks for the positive feedback!" He smirks. We continue along the path through the park.

~0~

We walk up to the Home. I asked if he'd walk back with me. I don't wanna get mugged ok!? I turn back to him.

"Thanks for coming out here and everything." I give him a hug.

"No problem. I had fun." He says. I smile; pulling out of the hug. I walk back toward the fire escape; I wave to him. He waves, and then starts walking back. That was really fun. Maybe I could do it more often! I get to the window. I open it slowly and step inside. I turn and close it.

Suddenly the light turns on. I freeze. Shit. I turn around slowly; seeing Jade, Ashley, Scarlett… and Miss Williams- with a security guard! I'm dead. I am so very, very dead.

"Kate." She Miss Williams starts. I gulp. "You have some explaining to do."

**PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! :D :D**

**I actually had something along the lines of you request **_**ItsAKiliThing. **_**But sense you requested it I changed it a bit to fit the description. :) I hope you all liked this chapter! Please review! I love to know what you all think!**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

**Ok, here's your chapter everyone! Please review and tell me what ya think!**

Ms. Williams waits for me to respond. Well, this is it. I am so dead it's not even funny. I glance at the security guard standing behind her.

"Well?" She says. I gulp.

"I-I was out seeing a friend." Please don't ask for details. I don't feel like explaining the truth of all this. Ms. Williams nods; a slightly pissed off look on her face.

"Why would you do that Kate?" She says. "You know the rules around here by now, I thought you under stood that!" She says. I look at the ground. I really messed up. She looks at me for a moment. "We thought someone broke in." She says. I look up. I didn't think of it like that.

"I didn't think it would affect anyone." I say quietly.

"Well if we hadn't looked at the camera's you might have been shot on the spot." She says. Wait what!? They have cameras? I gulp. Well it looks like my visiting chances with them are over… or are they? They wouldn't expect a mouse or something to sneak out. I smirk to myself. Thankfully no one saw it. Ms. Williams turns to the security guard and speaks to him quietly. He gives a nod; glancing at me for a brief second, he leaves the room. She turns to me.

"I'm sorry." No I'm not. Please, I won't be sorry if I hated going to see them. She gives me a disappointed look; then shakes her head.

"This isn't going unpunished Kate." She says and walks out of the room.

I turn to my friends. Ashley just looks at me and then at the ground and walks toward bed. Scarlett gave me a small smile; also going back to bed. Jade walks by and fist bumps me. At least someone appreciates my risk taking skills! I smirk, walking over to my bed.

Someone turns out the light and I sit in the window seat. Screw going back to bed now.

~0~

**A few hours later…**

Natasha walks out of the elevator and onto the communal floor. She always got up early for her morning routine in the gym. She walks over to the coffee maker and sees someone out of the corner of her eye. She turns and sees Steve sleeping on the couch with a book in his lap. She raised an eyebrow; walking over.

She shakes his shoulder lightly and he opens his eyes; he shakes his head regaining himself and sits up.

"Shouldn't you be on your run?" She says in an amused tone. He puts his hands up to his face.

"Yeah." He says; his voice muffled slightly.

"Soooo, why aren't you?" She says. He sighs and stands up.

"Ok-"He starts. "I ran into Kate yesterday-… or- she ran into me." He says; furrowing his eyebrows and blinking a few times as he remembers what happened. Natasha's expression brightens.

"You did?!" She says looking freakishly happy. He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"Wait, what does that have to do with you running?" She says. He swallows and lets out a breath.

"Well, we went out for a jog last night." He says. Natasha raised her eyebrows.

"Wait, she- convinced you..? To let her break out of the Home…" She says playfully. He sighed.

"Yeah." He says in a slightly annoyed tone; walking over to the fridge. "She just wanted to know what's been going on." He pulls a water bottle out of the fridge.

"How's she doing?" He drinks a bit of the water. He hesitates.

"I don't know. She says she's fine but…" He stops.

"You think otherwise." Natasha finishes. He nods. "It's a lot quieter around here, I'll give it that." She says looking around.

"When's Pepper getting back?" He asked. Natasha shrugged.

"Don't know. I think later tonight."

~0~

I put a carrot into my mouth. No one has said a word to me sense last night. Come one, I mean I didn't break the law or anything…Wait, did I? - ok not the point. We were in the cafeteria right now eating lunch.

"Ok, someone please say something." I look at them. Jade was sitting next to me, and Ashley and Scarlett were sitting across from me. They look up at me. "It wasn't that bad! ... Was it?" I ask.

"I just wish you would have told us. Don't you trust us?" Ashley speaks up. Well duh I trust you-… just not with my ability and who I used to live with. Simple enough.

"Yeah I trust you; I just didn't think you'd want to know." I say with a shrug.

"Dude. You broke out of the home. Why wouldn't we want to know your plan?" Jade says.

"What were you doing anyway?" Scarlett says; sipping her drink.

"I was…" I swallow. "Seeing Sam." I say like I was defeated. She narrowed her eyes for a moment.

"Why didn't you just wait til today?" She says. I raise an eyebrow. "Remember? She's coming to see you today!" Scarlett says with a laugh. Holy shit I forgot! I'm such an idiot it's not even funny.

"Oh! Yeah, I know. I just wanted to visit her apartment." I say, nodding to myself. I actually need to convince myself of this. She smiles and nods.

"Ok then." She says; putting a french-fry in her mouth.

~0~

I stir my cocoa with a straw. I was waiting for Sam. It was about 6pm right now. Now when she gets here I'm gonna have to explain to her that I was at her apartment last night and not you know where.

I look up from my cocoa when someone walks up to me.

"Hey!" She says excitedly. I smile and stand up; she pulls me into a hug.

"It's so good to see you." I can't believe I haven't seen her in over two weeks. It feels like a life time now.

"It's good to see you too Kate." She says; putting a hand on my shoulder. I smile; nodding to the seats for us to sit down. She smiles; taking a seat across from me. "So how've you been? I haven't heard from you in so long." She says with a laugh. I sighed.

"Yeah, I lost my phone charger so I haven't been able to charge it. I've been seeing if anyone has found one or something, but nothings turning up so…" I trail off with a laugh. She makes a pouty face.

"Awe, sucks to be you." She says with a smirk. I put a hand to my chest in offense with a smile.

"Ah, Miss Powell." Ms. Williams says walking up. Sam gives a small smile. "Did you to have fun last night?" She says smugly? I assume that's where you went." She says; turning to me. Sam raised an eyebrow; glancing at me. I look at the floor quickly.

"Uh-… yeah. We did." Sam says. Ms. Williams narrows her eyes and finally nods. A wave of relief washes over me. Thank god. If she found out I'd be screwed. She walks away and Sam turns to me. "Ok, start talking. What'd ya do?" I swallow.

"Ok, I ran into Steve a couple days ago and then I convinced him to let me sneak out so we could catch up. You know; what's been going on at the tower sense I left. Apparently not much."

"You convinced _him_ to let you do that?" She says; raising an eyebrow.

"I know right?!" I laugh. Sam chuckles. It's silent for a few seconds.

"You miss them a lot don't you?" She asked quietly. After a few seconds I bit my lip and nodded. I really really REALLY miss them. I just don't want to admit that I'd give anything. Freakin _anything_ to be back at the tower.

"It was fun while it lasted." Let's try and keep things positive. She gives me a small smile.

"Yeah." She says trailing off. I take my eyes off her for a moment; sipping my cocoa. They started serving the warmer drinks early this year. Even thought it was only the second week of October.

"If you could live with them. Would you?"

"Hell yeah." What kinda stupid question is that? Ah, how knows, it is Sam I'm talking to.

"Like, seriously. If for some weird reason you could live there for the rest of your life. Would you?" She says in a serious tone. I raise an eyebrow.

"Yeeaaaahh." I say slowly. "Why are you asking me this?" She's so weird. I see her expression change as she snaps out of her serious mode. She grins.

"Don't know. I just like asking questions." She says like it was a stupid question. I roll my eyes.

~0~

**Meanwhile at the Tower…**

Everyone had sat down to eat. Thor, Jane, and Darcy came; they'll be staying at the tower for a few days. Pepper picked up her fork; putting some green beans into her mouth.

"Anyone gonna say anything?" Clint speaks up. No one had said a word at the table yet. Natasha shrugs.

"Steve saw Kate last night." She says casually. Everyone looks up. Steve stops; about to put a bite in his mouth.

"Wait- what? You saw Kate!?" Clint says. He nods.

"Yeah, we bumped into each other at the museum."

"How is she?" Pepper asked in a concerned but intrigued tone. Steve finished chewing the bite of food.

"She's good. I don't think she's having a particularly exciting time there, but she said she was ok." He says. Just then something changed in Pepper's expression.

"Ok, everyone. I've been debating on whether or not I should ask you about this." She starts. Everyone turns to her with an eyebrow raised. Pepper takes in a deep breath letting it out.

"So… what is it?" Darcy plaining speaks up. Pepper takes in a deep breath and lets it out.

"I think we should adopt Kate."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

**Sorry I took me some time to update this! Please review and tell me what you think. **

"What!?" Tony blurts out.

"Why didn't you tell us about this sooner?" Natasha asked.

"We'll I wanted to do a little researching about it all before making a big deal out of it; -" Pepper pulls a cream colored folder out from under the table. "And with the help of all Tony's lawyer's I think that we all could adopt her as a "family." "She says. Everyone exchanges glances. Pepper grins. "No one's denying that it will work." She says.

"On the crazy off chance, what if she doesn't want to come back?" Bruce speaks up.

"Oh, she wants to come back alright." Pepper says; looking through the folder.

"And how do you know that?" Tony asked.

"Sam told me." She says casually. "I asked her the next time she visited Kate -today actually- that she needs to ask her some random questions for me." Pepper says.

"You've really thought of everything haven't you?" Clint says with a smirk. Everyone is silent for a moment.

"Well I'm in." Clint says.

"Is this the right thing to do though?" Steve asked. Clint looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the life we live isn't for the faint of heart. We won't always be there for her." He says.

"That was a pretty cheesy line." Tony says. Steve sends a quickly glare in his direction.

"So, she can learn to defend herself." Clint says.

"No that's not what I'm saying. If we don't come back from a mission, or saving the world, whatever... How is that going to affect her?" He says.

"Look at it this way." Natasha speaks up. "Do you think she would rather spend her life with us? Or with some random family that may not make her happy." Natasha says with an eyebrow raised. He looks at her; then the table. Pepper looks to everyone.

"I think it is a fine idea. Brining Kate back to the Tower." Thor says. Pepper smiles.

"Thank you Thor." She says sweetly. He smiles; taking a bite of mashed potatoes. She looks to everyone. "Ok, all in favor for adopting Kate. Raise a hand."

Pepper raised hers; Clint's hand shot up. Natasha put her hand up and so did Darcy and Jane. Steve swallowed his bite of chicken; then raised his hand. Thor raised his and so did Bruce. Everyone looked at Tony. He rolls his eyes; raising his hand. Pepper smiles.

"Ok. It's decided. We'll adopt Kate." She says with a slightly squeal of happiness.

~0~

"What do you mean we can't all adopt her?! Pepper says. They were having a meeting with Ms. Williams. The lady that watches over a small portion of the home.

"If there are several people in the adoption process, then one person has to take a bit more responsibility over the child. This significant other would be known as their guardian." She says. Pepper rubs her head; glancing at Steve, Natasha, and Clint.

"So we would all be adopting her, but one of us would have more claim over her?" Clint says. Ms. Williams gives an annoyed look which she quickly hides.

"In theory." They all look at each other. "Would that be one of you?" She asked.

"Yeah." Natasha says. Ms. Williams nods.

"I would recommend a person she is closest to, or gets along with. I understand she was living with you for almost 2 months?" They nod.

"That'd probably be you." Clint says to Steve. He crosses his arms over his chest and shakes his head.

"No. I'm not the right person for this."

"C'mon, she loves you." Clint says playfully. "Besides, you were the one who found her, AND you act like a parent to her anyway." Clint says. Steve gives him a look.

"You should." Pepper says. "I think this would be good for you." She says with a smile. He sighs.

"Of all people I have no idea how to take care of a teenager." He says.

"Just do it." Clint says; shouldering him. "It'll be easy, we got your back." Steve glances at the papers on the desk, and everyone else. He lets out a breath, and then hesitated.

"Ok."

~0~

"Here are you papers." Ms. Williams says; handing the adoption papers to Pepper. She takes them gratefully. "I can go have her pack-"

"Not just yet. We wanna surprise her." Pepper says. Ms. Williams nods. She just wanted these people out of here.

"What did you have in mind?"

~0~

**A day later…**

"Sam, I swear if you're taking me to a McDonalds I'm going to kill you." I say with a laugh. Sam was taking me somewhere for my birthday surprise. My parents had always given me a big surprise on my birthday. It could have been going to a place, or an object, anything really. But sense my parents… can't do it anymore Sam wanted to make sure it happened this year. My birthday was in the first week of July. It was the second to last week of October. And since we kinda missed it, Sam wanted to make it extra special.

"Don't worry, its way better than McDonalds." I look in her direction, I think. She blind folded me. Typical. I feel the car stop and she helped me out. We walk at least 20 feet into a building and into an elevator. I feel the floor move; and I stumble. It's a pretty silent ride. Where the hell is she taking me? Ii put my hand up slowly to take off the blind fold. Sam slaps me lightly.

"Ow."

"Oh please." She mumbles. I feel the floor rise a bit and stop. I hear the door ding and open. I raise an eyebrow. I know that sound. I just can't put my finger on it. Suddenly, someone pulls the blind fold off my head and I squint and the light. I blink several times and gasp.

Oh. My. God. I'm back at the tower! I look around me; my mouth open. Everyone was standing in front of me, including Thor, Jane, and Darcy! Jesus. Christ. Oh my freaking god. Oh my freakin. god. I feel my eyes start to water a bit.

"Welcome back Kate." Pepper speaks up. She bites her lip with a smile. She had a tasty looking cake in her hands. I feel my lips twitch up into a smile. I could see Sam standing slightly behind me. I feel my eyes watering more now. Best. Gift. ever. I quicken my pace as I walk up to Pepper.

I pull her into a frantic hug; she side hugs me, still holding the cake. After everything I thought they were past me. I thought they would have moved on, but they actually stopped everything to let me visit!

"Like it?" Sam said from behind me. I turn nodding to her.

"You've really stepped up your game." I say. Everyone chuckles.

"My turn." Clint says; walking over. I smirk. He pulls me into a hug. I hug Natasha, Bruce, and Tony. I walk over to Steve. He smiles.

"Long time no see." I smile. He gives a small smile; pulling me into a hug. Once out of his view I furrowed my eyebrows slightly. Something's up. He doesn't seem right. He was tensed and had a weird look in his eyes; like he saw me differently... Whatever, I'm sure it's nothing. I pull out of the hug and go hug Thor- who almost crushed me-, Jane, and I fist bumped Darcy before hugging her.

"So what to you wanna do first?" Pepper spoke up. I swallow; looking around. Shoot, I don't know.

"Why not do lunch first." Steve says. I look to him and nod.

"Wait!" I yell; holding out my hands. "Do we have pudding?!" I demand in a serious but childish tone. He smirks and nods. Yes! They thought of everything. I do a fist pump and run for the fridge.

~0~

I take a bite of my biscuit. We all had sat down to eat lunch a bit ago. I pick up my plate along with Pepper's, and Clint's who had finished; taking them to the sink. Thor, Jane, and Darcy had gone back to their rooms, and Tony and Bruce had gone back down to the lab.

"So what do you wanna do?" Clint says; leaning on his fist. I shrug; sitting back down.

"I honestly don't know. I didn't expect to be here today." I honestly expected to be at some restaurant right now or something. But this is waaayyy better.

"Well Nat and I have to pay Fury a visit." Clint says. I nod; taking that into account.

"Could we maybe go on a run?" I ask; turning to Steve. He nods; wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"Yeah, go get dressed." He says. I nod; I was kinda wearing skinny jeans and a flannel shirt. I run for the elevator and to my room. Sam had somehow snuck some of my clothes out. Don't know how she got passed Ms. Williams, but whatever! I run into my room; grabbing the bag of clothes by the door, and run into the bathroom to get dressed.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**Hope you liked chapter 14 everyone! I know you've been dying for them to adopt her, especially you **_**aliceindeepdarkwonderland.**_** ;) Anyway, here's you chapter. Something big happens! Mwahahaha! **

After I went for a run with Steve, we came back to the Tower. We had a good run… despite his weird behavior. I don't know what's gotten into him. Did he not want me to come back or something? I completely understand; all the pranks Clint and I played on him… He just seems so nervous around me, don't know why, I'm not exactly intimidating… I don't think.

I walk over to Pepper who was making something that smelled really good. I peek over her shoulder as she stirred something. She chuckled.

"It's pot-roasted if you were going to ask." I smile.

"Smells really good." I say. She smiles.

"Why thank you." The elevator door opens and Natasha walks in with Clint.

"Ok, time for the gym." Clint says; clapping his hands together. I smirk.

"Yes!" I whisper. I almost skip as I meet them at the elevator and we go down.

~0~

"Steady yourself. You want to get the power in your punch from your body, not your arm." Clint instructs. I was sparring with Natasha… or- trying to. I had sent a punch which she blocked easily. And I kinda ended up on the floor.

I nod; pushing myself to me feet. Natasha grins. I swear; she is evilly plotting my murder in her head or something. I get into a fighting stance and she makes the first move; going for a kick, to take my feet out from under me. I jump; then block her punch, rolling to the side as she does another kick toward my head. I turn to slow as she knocks me off my feet as soon as I got up. I stayed on the floor.

"I'm never going to get good at this." I groan.

"Sure you will. You just have to try a bit harder." Natasha says; pulling me up. I sigh. I am training with the world's best assassins. I guess I'll get better at some point. I wipe the sweat off my forehead.

"Wanna break?" Clint asked. Ii nod; now realizing that I was breathing heavy. I walk over to the punching bags. They raise an eyebrow and exchange a glance. "Uh… aren't you breaking?" I nod; throwing a few punches.

"This is kinda second nature to me thanks to my brother." I wish he was here. They nod.

"Did you have a good run?" Natasha asked. I throw one more punch; turning to them for a moment as I blow my hair from my face.

"'Yeah, but. Steve was kinda acting weird. "I throw another punch.

"Weird, how so?" Clint speaks up immediately. I look at him; then shrug.

"I dunno. Just, he seems a bit shaken up, or something." I look back at the bag; not seeing them look at each other nervously. I glance at them and they smile.

"I'm sure he's fine." Natasha assures me. I nod slowly.

"Wanna watch the new episode of the Walking Dead?" Clint says excitedly. I stop immediately.

"YES!" I yell; running with him to the elevator.

~0~

This day has been awesome so far. I haven't had this much fun in so long. After me and Clint watched the Walking Dead episode that wasn't actually new; just a repeat from the last season; I went down to the lab.

I walk out of the elevator; seeing Tony playing with the glove of his suit. I walk over; sitting down on the spinney stool.

"Hey kid." He tweaks something in the glove; not looking over at me. "Hand me that." He jesters to a screw driver looking thing on the counter next to me. I pick it up and walk over; handing it to him. He takes it and I see him fiddle with it for a few more seconds. He grins; putting it down. "Ok, kid. Wanna help me test this?" I nod. He gets the glove of his suit and we walk over to a different part of the lab.

"What do I do exactly?" I better not screw this up cause that'll be the end of it.

"Put your arm in it." He says. I hesitate. 'Don't be scared of it its' not gonna blow up." He says. I smirk; putting my hand in and it closes.

"It's cold." I say; feeling all the bits and pieces of metal. He turns me toward a plain white wall, and then stands next to me.

"Ok." He says; positioning my arm up. "Just give your risk a little flick and fire away." He says. I nod. I squint a little; aiming at the wall. I flick my wrist up and boy was I excited in that spit second… what I didn't count on was the knock back.

The blast threw me back and into the opposite wall. It went black.

~0~

"Kid,… kid!" I could hear a faint voice… Tony? What the hell happened?

"She has a name, Stark." I think that was Steve. I squint my eyes open; seeing Tony, Pepper, and Steve. I was lying on my back on the couch. Pepper had a worried face; standing somewhat next to me. Steve looked pretty concerned; sitting on the couch next to me. And Tony looked… I honestly don't know; standing slightly behind Pepper.

"She's waking up." Pepper says; leaning down. I look around; then furrow my eyebrows. "How do you feel?" Pepper put a hand to my forehead; in a concerned manner. I blink a few times.

"Uh, fine." I sit up and feel a pain shoot through my back. "Ok! Ok! Not fine!" I say; flinching. Pepper made a face; handing me a glass of water. I put it to my mouth; drinking a bit. Pepper turned to Tony; slapping his arm.

"Ow!" He says in a whining voice.

"What did you do?" She demands.

"We were testing the suits Pep!" He says.

"Why would you let her do that?"

"Because she's 15, not 5?" Tony says like it's a valid reason. They continue to argue.

"You ok?" Steve asked. I nod.

"Yeah, my back hurts a bit." I say. He nods.

"Need anything?" I think for a moment. Ooh! I know.

"Would pudding be a childish answer?" I say with a small smile. He smirks.

"No, not necessarily." I smirk. "I'll be right back." He says; getting up. I smile, turning back to Pepper and Tony.

"She's fine, look at her." Tony says gesturing to me. I chuckle.

"Yeah she was knocked unconscious a minute ago." Pepper says. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Do you feel fine kid?" He asked. I nod. Tony smirks.

"See? She's as fit as a fiddle." Pepper puts a hand to her face.

~0~

So today was a fun day. We were all sitting on the couch for dinner watching TV. We were having pizza; they even got my favorite; Hawaiian pizza! I take a bite of my pizza. I was sitting next to Pepper and Sam. Steve, Natasha, and Clint were on the couch to my left, Tony, Bruce and Thor were sitting on the couch to my right, and Jane, and Darcy had run to go get some sodas a block away or so.

I take a bite of my pizza, looking at the TV. Suddenly the light from my phone goes on. Yeah, Tony got me a new cord to charge my phone. Thank god! I see the time. It was almost 11.

"Oh, I should be getting back." I say; taking one more bite of my pizza and get ready to stand.

"-Wait! Just a second…" Pepper stops me. I look at her; an eyebrow rose. Everyone exchanged glances. What's going on? It was silent for a few more seconds.

"Yeah, bout that." Clint starts with a smirk. I look around at everyone. What the hell is up?

"You're not leaving Kate." Pepper says with a smile. I turn to her. "We adopted you."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

**I hope you liked the chapter everyone! I'll keep this short… so without further ado… **

"What?" I say; barely above a whisper. Did she really say that? Would they actually do that? Ok, deep breaths. Deep breaths.

"I said we adopted you." Pepper chuckles nervously. I couldn't breathe. Oh. My. God. Ok… ok ok ok ok ok. I put a hand over my mouth; and I think I feel my eyes tear up. Pepper chuckles again. I put my hands over my face to contain any of my tears which I didn't want them to see. I feel Pepper hug me and I put my arms around her; burying my face into her shoulder. "Are you ok with that?" Pepper asked. Do you really need to ask!?

"Yes! Of course I am." I pull out of the hug; my tears and red coloring in my face almost gone. "Group hug time." I say between laughs of joy. Everyone smiled; standing up. We all kinda met in the middle. I was in the middle of it all; then Thor walked up and almost lifted us up. We all chuckled.

I can't believe this is actually happening! I thought at most they'd let me visit from time to time. But this is a _whole_ new level! We pull out of the hug.

"Oh; and here's your guardian." Clint says; slapping Steve on the back. Steve tenses at Clint's slaps him. I furrow my eyebrows. Wait what? "Someone had to take responsibility over you, so we voted this guy!" Clint whips his head around to him. REALLY!?

"Y-you don't need to think of it like that-"Steve states. I smile.

"Well how else would you put it?" Clint laughs.

"I don't know-"I run up and hug him. He tensed for a moment; then smiled, hugging me back. Everyone smiled.

"Aw." Clint says. Steve sends him a playful glare.

~0~

I was adopted. I. was. Adopted. I can't believe that they adopted me! Ah!

We were all still on the communal floor. Sam walks over to me; I was in the kitchen cutting myself another slice of the delicious chocolate cake Pepper made. It. Was. Amazing.

"So? Surprised?" Sam grins. Wait wait wait. WHAT?

"You knew!?" I loudly whisper. She nods.

"Hell yeah I knew! That's why I asked those questions." She says. Well isn't that great.

"You little sneak!" I shoulder her playfully. She shrugs.

"It was for a good cause." She says. I chuckle; rolling my eyes. "This is the family you deserve." She says. I make a face.

"Cheesy line." I say. She rolls her eyes; shoving me. I smirk.

"Kate! You guys coming?" Pepper called. I look over.

"Yeah." I pick up my soda and plate with the chocolate cake; following Sam back over to the couch.

~0~

I walked into my "new" room. I can't believe this was all mine again. I thought I'd never see this room again; not to mention sleep in it. I had said good night to everyone; and Sam went home. I walked over to the bag of clothes; dumping it on my bed. I see a not fall out. Raising an eyebrow I pick it up.

_I'll pick up the rest of your clothes tomorrow. ;)_

Sam's hand writing. I roll my eyes; placing the note on my desk before taking the bag of clothes to the bathroom. A couple minutes later; I came out of the bathroom in some shorts and a tank top. I flopped down on my bed and stared out the window for a moment. I smile.

I found a place to call home.

_***PLEASE READ THIS!***_

**Ok. Please don't be mad at me… I'm stopping here. The end. I'm not continuing it…. JUST KIDDING! Ha-ha. Don't worry it's far from over, but what I think I'm gonna do is make a sequel. It will leave off right here, don't fret. ;) It'll be like nothing happened. It might take me a bit to post the "sequel" but in the meantime, please feel free to check out my other story ****Rebel Reboot****. I know a few of you have read it, but please read them if you liked this so far. They are pretty action packed and I've been told it's a really good story. The second one to ****Rebel Reboot**** is ****The Dark Rider****, and following that is ****Fearless****; which I am currently writing too along with this. So, anyway, I promise to get it up as soon as possible. Love you guys!**


	17. Chapter 17

Notice

**Ok, everyone. I have some good news and bad news. Usually the bad news goes first in the movies… so,… yeah. My computer needs to go into the shop for a couple days, so until then I can't update anything…. I'm really sorry yawl! :( Ok… good news time. I have decided for the lack of inconvenience, that I am not writing a sequel. I am leaving it off right where it was as chapter 18. :) ( I'm calling it 18 so people don't get confused with the notice being a chapter) I hope you support that decision, and check in to see when it's up! Have a good thanksgiving! **


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

**I'm back everyone! I know the last few shout-outs were a bit confusing… so, yeah.**

**Someone: Thanks for the review! About that guest name, I actually got it from you from previous reviews, so I thought why not use it real quick? :P Hope I didn't overlap any of your reviews on that story by the way, it's a pretty good story right? ;) – oh wait scratch that, I see you reviewed as 'someone' on July 15. So at least we have that sorted. From now on, I'll use my account to review if you'd like. :)**

**Anyway! ;) Here's your chapter! **

**The next day…**

"_Miss Sanders, will you be going for a run with Captain Rogers today?"_ I warily open my eyes; then groan.

"What?" I mumble.

"_It is 5:45 Miss Sanders." _Jarvis tells me. My eyes shoot open as I look at the clock. It was indeed 5:45am. I usually got up and was out the door at 5:30. I scramble out of bed; throwing my sheets into the air and run for the bathroom. I brush my teeth quickly and throw my hair into a ponytail before running for the elevator; not bothering to get dressed sense I was wearing my usual tank top and shorts.

A few minutes later I run out of the elevator and through the lobby. I sprint out the door and onto the side walk; then hear someone call my name. I turn around seeing Steve jogging out of the lobby. Oh… ha-ha. I let out a breath.

"I though you left already." I breathe. He smirks.

"I figured you'd forget to set your alarm so I waited." He says.

"Thanks." He gives a nod. I glance at the door. "What's the route today Captain?" I say; kneeling down to tie my shoes, which I forgot to do. He rolled his eyes.

"Why not cross the bridge when we come to it?" I look up; raising an eyebrow.

"Okey Dokey." He gives a small smirk before we walk out the door.

~0~

We jogged down the path, which was now covered in leaves. It was almost Halloween, like a week away or something! Sadly, Thor Jane and Darcy had to leave for a bit before that. His dad needed him on Asgard, Jane had work, and Jane's work was Darcy's work pretty much. They should be back by Halloween.

I glance at him as we keep jogging. Why is he so quiet? He's never this quiet. Were usually talking about something, even if it's the weather. I clear my throat.

"So, uh… when did you all decide to adopt me?" He swallows, turning to me.

"Uh, Pepper was actually the one who thought of it and brought it up a few days ago. We all agreed to it so Pepper, Clint, Natasha and I went to- sign the uh, paper work." He says. Ok…

I nod, seeing the break point a few meters ahead. We slowed down and I walked toward the fountain. Why is he so edgy about this? I mean I get that he's in charge of me now, but it's not like anything changed really.

I finish drinking water and decide to speak up.

"So uh, how did you all decide on who would, uh…"

"-Who would take charge over you?" He finished. I swallow and nod. Great, now you're making me feel awkward. "They told me I should." He says. I feel a grin come onto my face.

"You don't seem entirely sure that was the right choice." I chuckle. He swallows.

"I'm gonna be entirely honest with you Kate. I have no idea what I'm doing." He says more serious. I chuckle again.

"You don't need to know what to do; you just… go with the flow. There's really nothing specific." I kneel down to re-tie my shoes. He clenches his jaw, crossing his arms.

"Easy for you to say." He says. I raise an eyebrow; looking up at him.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" I laugh.

"Nothing, just, if you were in my shoes maybe you'd understand." He defends. I nod, studying his expression for a few seconds.

"What are you afraid of?" I ask a bit quieter. He looks at me for a minute. Suddenly a loud bang came from out right. We both turn our heads; seeing smoke rising into the air a few miles away.

"We need to get back to the tower." Steve says. I nod; following him as we run back.

~0~

The door opened as we walked onto the communal floor and I see Pepper watching something on the TV. She looked worried. I walk over with Steve and she sees us.

"Fury said he needed you in ASAP. He said Clint would give the coordinates." Pepper says immediately. I look at the TV. All I could see on the screen was explosions and people running and screaming. Oh god. I look back at Steve but he was already running for the elevator to get ready. I look back at Pepper.

"What's going on?" Pepper bit her lip.

"There was a bombing about 10 blocks away. It took out a few buildings and there are at least 200 hostages in one of the buildings. There are at least 40 hostile people in the building, I think they said." Pepper says. She was worried, I could tell. Hell, I was worried.

The elevator opens and Steve runs out, already dressed in his suit; his shield in hand. He walks over, about to speak when suddenly the lights, and TV goes out. A sound like a motor dying follows.

"Barton, I didn't catch that, what street?" Steve says; a hand slight up to his com. He sighed, and mummers under his breath. "Coms are jammed." He says; then walks toward the stairs. I clench my jaw. Now I have that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew now that I was living here that I would be seeing them leaving a lot. The door closed behind him. I realize I was jogging toward the door. Thankfully he hadn't gotten far. He stops and looks up passed the few stairs in confusion. "You ok?" He asked, in an 'I have to go' tone; but in a polite way. I clench my jaw; getting down the few stairs and meeting him in a hug. He drops his tense guard to hug me back.

Man I really hate this feeling. The last time I felt it was when my brother first went overseas, and he came back, but… This is different, - a lot different. I can't lose anyone else. I don't know if I could take that. Not after everything that's happened.

"Just… don't get killed… were having leftover pizza tonight." I try to say humorously. He smiles.

"We won't." He says. I nod, he gives me on last look before disappearing down the stairs. I cross my arms tightly across my chest as I walk back up the stairs and back onto the communal floor. Pepper was looking out the window; glancing at me as I walk over.

"So this must not be new to you." I whisper. She chuckles.

"Yeah… God they scare me sometimes." She says, biting her lip again. I nod. Staring at the window, seeing smoke in the distance. You all better get home safely.

~0~

"Pepper, when are they gonna get back?" I groan. I was lying across the top of the couch; staring out the window. Pepper was anxiously watching the news, trying to get a glimpse of any of them.

"I don't know Kate. Wish I did." Pepper says calmly. I moan, rolling off the top of the couch and onto the cushions. Suddenly the elevator doors opened and we both looked over. They all walked- or stumbled out of the elevator. Oh. My. God. "Are you all alright?" Pepper walked over concerned.

Clint had a long gash down his bicep and a few cuts and scrapes on his face. Natasha has a bloody lip. Steve's mask was gone and he had a gash over his eyebrow, a busted lip, and blood coming from his left side; near his ribs slightly. Tony; despite having his suit; had a scrape on his forehead and a black eye. They were all covered in ash. Bruce had stayed in the lab sense this wasn't necessarily a national crisis, and to prevent more damage from being caused.

"Yeah, yeah. We're fine." Clint mumbles. Christ, this is pretty intense. For some reason I thought this would be easy. But now that I actually see them, beaten up and bruised in front of me… this is gonna be a lot harder than I thought.

"None of you seem fine!" Pepper says; walking over to the fridge; grabbing four water bottles. Clint and Natasha sat down at the bar. I stood off to the side; holding my forearm. I had never seen them like this. It was a little uncomforting. Pepper handed a water bottle to Tony, and then walked over to Clint and Natasha; handing two to them. She handed the last one to Steve as he walked over. He tensed as he sat down; holding his side slightly.

"You all need to go see Bruce at some point tonight." Pepper orders.

"Oh, c'mon Pep." Tony whines. Pepper gives him a look.

"Come one over kid." Clint says. I hesitantly walk over, sitting in the spare seat between Steve and Natasha.

"So uh, what happened?" They chuckle.

"Just another group of people who thought they could take us on." Clint says. I smirk.

"They managed to pack the office buildings with C-4 and take almost 250 hostages." Natasha says. I nod.

"Sounds like it was tough."

"Yeah, it felt tough." Steve mumbles; holding his side; which looked like it was bothering him more now. I chuckle a bit; seeing the blood running down his side and all over his hand.

"Shouldn't you uh…" I start; looking at his side. He looks up at me.

"Yeah, get down stairs now and have Bruce check that." Pepper orders again. He nods, getting up and heading for the elevator. I watch him go and turn back to Natasha and Clint.

"It sounds like a nightmare." I state. Natasha chuckled.

"It's really not. It's just… not for the faint of heart." She says.

"Yep. Best job I ever had." He says; leaning against the counter. I listen to them talk about their jobs as SHIELD agents for a bit longer. How they can go undercover for up to months at a time, and get to train with special equipment. It sounds like such a neat job. I myself had always wanted to join the Military like my brother. But now, it just seemed like it didn't fit. I honestly don't know if I could do it either. It would remind me to much of him.

After they all cleaned up and we had our fabulous leftover pizza, I hit the sack early… After everyone, besides Bruce and Pepper fell asleep. And as I was finally lying in my bed and staring at the ceiling I realized something.

I think I wanted to be a SHIELD agent.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

**Here's your next chapter everyone, please review and enjoy!**

I walk onto the gym floor and see Natasha. I begin to walk over. I was about to take a huge leap of faith and ask her a question.

"Hey Natasha?" I ask; walking up to her. She was punching one of the bags. She turned; blowing the bangs from her face.

"Yeah?" She looked at me with surprisingly calm eyes. She threw a few more punches. I swallow.

"Uh-say if, someone… wanted to be a SHIELD agent. How would they start?" Her punch hits the bag and stops. There was some awkward dead silence.

"Wait- what?" She turned back again. I gulp. Oh- no.

"W-what do you have to do to become a SHIELD agent?" I ask nervously. She raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you ask?" I shrug.

"No reason." I try to say casually. She drops her fist and nods to the benches. We walk over and take a seat.

"Well, you need to have a proper education and training, I know that. And this _person _would have to go to a SHIELD academy, depending on what area you want to excel in." She says. "But other than that, you want to ask Clint. I didn't really go through the proper- uh…. Steps. You could say I guess." She says with a smile. I nod; looking away for a moment. Ok, now I gotta find the bird brain.

"Ok, that's Tasha." I smile; getting up and walking for the door. She gave me a nod; walking back over to the bags.

~0~

I walk into the elevator and the door closes. Man that was close. At least she didn't ask too many questions. I will have to tell them at some point though. Well… not until I get it all sorted out that this is what I want to do with my life.

The door opens a little too soon for comfort and I walk onto the communal floor. Thankfully Pepper was at work and Steve was on the carrier; plus Tony and Bruce were in the lab so I didn't need to worry about him telling anyone. I walk over to Clint; who was sitting on the couch watching The Walking Dead again.

"Hey Clint?" I plop down on the couch diagonal to his right. He shoves a handful of popcorn into his mouth; then finishes chewing.

"Yeah kiddo?" I stare at the ground for a moment.

"Uh- what kinda school does a person go to uh, uhh- n-not me… if they wanted to go to a SHIELD school?" Smooth Sanders. Real smooth. He stopped the handful of popcorn that was about to go into his mouth.

"Why, are you thinking about-"

"No." I blurt out. He grins.

"You are, aren't you?! You wanna be a SHIELD agent!" He shouts in excitement. My eyes widen. Shit. I'm done for.

"No I don't, shut up!"

"I'm telling Tasha!" He says with a grin; running for the stairs. I get up and chase after him. He was way too fast for me though... or was he?

…

Clint ran down the stairs as fast as he could and burst through the door to the gym.

"Hey Nat, guess what!?" He yells. Natasha turned looking at him with an eyebrow raised and he ran toward her. Suddenly before the door could close a black leopard leaped out and ran at him; tackling him to the floor with a roar. Natasha stared wide eyed for a moment. She knew it was Kate but she didn't know what brought this on. "Christ! Ok, ok!" He says; putting his hands up in surrender. The big cat glares at him for a moment before crawling off him and stalking off to the far wall. Natasha pulls him to his feet and punches his arm.

"What the hell did you do?" She yell/whispers. He makes a face.

"Nothing! It wasn't my fault I was tackled to the gym floor!" He defends. They hear a growl from behind them as the leopard walks up behind Natasha. She raised an eyebrow. Clint has a glaring moment with Kate.

"Well you obviously did something to cause her to lash out." She says with a smirk. Clint grins; looking at the leopard (Kate), whose ears were pinned back; then back at Natasha.

"Kate wants to be a SHIELD agent!" He blurts out really fast. The Kate's eyes went wide and she lunged at Clint. He fell back onto the mats and Natasha watched them with a straight face. She watched as Kate had gotten her jaws around Clint's forearm and Clint had her in a head lock. They wrestled around for a few more seconds.

"Yeah, I know." She said causally. They both stopped what they were doing at the second they heard that.

"Whaaaatt?" Clint drew out. Then he chuckled. "Looks like I didn't even need to say anything." He says; sounding satisfied. Kate rolled her eyes; dropping his arm and wriggling out of his grip.

"Yeah, I could tell you were lying Kate. It was pretty obvious… no offense." She says with a chuckle. Kate huffed, licking her paw and rubbing her ear. Suddenly her ears pricked up as she looks to the door; hearing someone walking onto the communal floor. She ran to the door and up the stairs.

"Wouldn't that be cool Tasha!? We could mentor her and she'd be so bad ass, with that whole shifting thing goin on." He says. Natasha smirked.

"Even if that happened, we'd have to worry about getting her into a SHIELD academy and get past Fury and-"

"Oh c'mon it'll work! We could make it happen." He says. Natasha chuckled and rolled her eyes. Clint pulled out his phone; seeing a text on the screen.

"Pepper and Rogers are back." He says. Natasha nodded; walking over to get her stuff.

~0~

**Meanwhile…**

Pepper and Steve walked out onto the communal floor.

"I still don't understand what you're worried about Steve; I mean you already pretty close. You just add looking after her into the mix." She says. He swallowed; obviously still worried about the whole 'being a guardian' thing.

"I don't know. There must be qualifications for stuff like this." He says; putting his hands in his pockets. Pepper chuckles.

"Don't worry about that, we'll all help too." She says. "Besides, she's not that complicated-"Suddenly Pepper screamed. Steve tensed and looked up in shock. Then he let his guard down; seeing a now very shocked black leopard sitting in front of them. All the blood had drained from Pepper's face. She took in a deep breath; putting a hand to her chest.

"Yeah, not complicated at all." Steve joked. Pepper rolled her eyes. Kate jumped onto the couch, shifting back into human form.

…

I shook my head; putting a hand through my hair.

"Kate- you scared the living day lights out of me!" Pepper said; catching her breath. I grin. Tony and Bruce walk out of the elevator and over to the kitchen.

"Sorry, earlier we had a slight-…." Uh…. Please don't ask. "Complication." I say quietly. Pepper raised an eyebrow but nodded. I feel my shoulders relax. Then my gaze turned to Steve who was looking at me with an eyebrow raised as well. "Ummmmm…." I whisper slightly.

"What complication would that be?" He asked, sitting down next to me. I swallow. Suddenly the stair door swings open and Clint walks out with Natasha following. Steve and I look up.

"Kate wants to be a SHIELD agent! Kate wants to be a SHIELD agent!" He sings. Everyone stops what they were doing. I feel my breath catch in my throat. Oh. My. God. He did not just say that in front of **everyone. **

Steve turned and looked at me with a shocked expression along with everyone else. It was dead silent.

~0~

"No! Absolutely not!" Pepper made clear. Clint made a face. They had had a very silent dinner and Sam had come over. Thankfully; Sam wanted to take Kate to a movie afterward, so they were gone at the moment.

'C'mon Pepper, she's a teenage girl. She should be able to make her own decisions!" Clint whines.

"Not under this roof she's not! Especially if it involves her going out there and risking her life." Pepper says. All the avengers exchanged glances.

"Uh, Pep if you didn't notice; but we all kinda live that every day." Tony says. Pepper sent him a glare.

"She is kinda living with the world's greatest heroes." Clint grins. "What'd you expect her to do?" He says. Pepper looks to everyone. She looks to Bruce who was standing off to the side; crossing his arms.

"Bruce. Please tell me how insane this sounds." She says. He swallows, seeing everyone glance at him.

"Honestly… she's not a weak girl… She could really amount to something, with Natasha and Clint working with her." He says. Pepper scoffs; putting her hands on her face. Clint grins.

"That's 4 to 1!" He says. Pepper turns to Steve who was sitting on the couch looking in deep thought.

"Well to be technical; it won't matter how many people think she should do this because we need _your_ approval in the first place." Pepper says. He looks up at her. "Because like you said Clint-" She turns to him. "-She's still a teenage and needs the guardian's approval." Clint mumbles under his breath; looking at Steve. Steve looks around at everyone; then at the ground. Pepper waited for a response.

"Let me talk to her first." He says. Pepper smiles.

"Ok, we'll give them some time to talk it over. In the meantime… how was everyone's day?" She says sweetly. Everyone slowly looks at her. Clint grinned and chuckled. Pepper made a face. "What?" She said. Clint shakes his head and gets up; walking toward the stairs. Tony started walking toward the door whistling causally and Bruce followed. "What did I say?" She laughs. Natasha chuckles quietly. Steve kept staring at the ground; his mind somewhere else.

~0~

I walked onto the communal floor; seeing Pepper at the table looking over stuff for work. I walk over; leaning on the counter. Pepper looks up with blood shot eyes. She smiles.

"Have fun?" I nod; leaning on my fist. "Oh-" She swallows sitting up. "Steve wants to talk to you; I think he's in the gym." I raise an eyebrow but nod; walking for the elevator.

A few minutes later I walk out of the elevator and see Steve over at the bags. He turned; seeing me walk over. He lets his hand fall from the bag and walks over to the bench where his bag was.

"Hey, have fun?" He says; his breathing heavy. I nod.

"Yeah." I plop down on the bench next to his bag. He sits down on my left.

"So, about this whole SHIELD thing-" He starts. I swallow looking at the floor.

'I wasn't going to tell anyone yet." He smirked.

"Yeah I figured by the way you reacted." He says. I give a small nod. "But honestly, do you really want to be an agent?" He asked. I stare at the ground. Don't make eye contact. Don't make eye contact.

"I-I don't know. Ever sense I was little I wanted to be like my brother.-" I see him tense slightly out of the corner of my eye. "-but, I don't really know anymore. I feel like I could do more good with SHIELD. But, I don't really trust them enough in the first place." I explain. He nods.

"There's no rush."

"I know, but I kinda wanna do more training, and that kinda stuff." He nods. There was a few seconds of silence.

"I support your decision. Whatever you decide on." He says. I feel a huge burden come off my shoulders.

"Thanks." He smiles. "My parents never really trusted my judgment before-…" I look at the ground. I stand up. "I'm gonna go to bed." I say, he nods; standing up. I start walking then stop. I run back over and give him a quick hug. "Good night." I say; then let go of him.

"Night." He says with a smile. I smile and nod; walking for the door.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

**Thank you for the review **_**acompletenerd, **_**it's good to know that I have some people who like giving their input! Ok, without further ado, here's your chapter!**

**The next morning…**

After I went for a run with Steve, we started heading back to the tower. We walked out of the elevator; seeing Pepper, Clint, and Bruce. Pepper was getting ready to leave for work, Clint was sitting on his ass watching TV as usual, and Bruce was leaning against the counter with his cup of coffee.

Pepper looked up from her purse; seeing us walk over.

"Oh, hey you two, there's bacon and eggs in the microwave!" She says sweetly. I raise an eyebrow and exchange a glance with Steve who just rolled his eyes. I walk into the kitchen and grab the two plates out of the microwave.

"So… have you talked to her at all?" I hear Pepper whisper. I see Steve make a face as I walk over.

"Yeah I-" I cleared my voice to let them know I was standing there. They both looked down at me. "Why don't you go to your room for a quick second?" Steve suggests with a smile. I narrowed my eyes slightly, and then slowly nod; handing him his plate; making my way for the elevator with mine.

…

After the elevator closed Pepper turned back to him; waiting for a response. Clint looked up from the TV; also wanting to know the final decision.

"I said she could if she wanted to." He says plainly. Clint laughs a victory and does a fist pump. Pepper's face drops.

"How could you do that!? Do you want to see her get killed?!" Pepper raised her voice.

"Absolutely not, but it should be her choice-" He starts but get cut off.

"Well then what about being a SHIELD agent do you think she'll benefit from? Fury almost killed her!"

"And she needs to know how to defend herself!" He says. Suddenly the elevator door opened. The two of them look at the door with their glares still on their faces. But no one walked out. Steve narrowed his eyes for a moment; looking around the room, but no one had come out. He shrugged it off; looking back to Pepper.

"You could easily teach her any of that! Plus she already had Natasha and Clint working with her." Pepper says.

"She has to get a job at some point." Clint speaks up. Pepper and Steve send a glare at him. Clint just raises his hands in surrender; looking back to the TV.

"Clint does have a point though, becoming a SHIELD agent at a young age with improve her learning ability so she can have a wide variety of career opportunities if she doesn't want to continue with SHIELD, later on that is." Bruce spoke up. Pepper looked like she was about to slap someone. She narrows her eyes; thinking for a moment.

"I see what you're doing. You're trying to rub her off on SHIELD!" She says; as if she's almost thinking up every bad scenario. Steve threw his hands in the air.

"No Pepper!; that's not what I'm doing-"He gets cut off again.

"You may not know how to take care of a teenager Steve, but you shouldn't be afraid of-"

"I'm _not _afraid of taking care of Kate." He says.

"Yes you are! I can see it, Steve! I can literally see it. You're afraid that you're not good enough to replace what she's already lost-"Clint cleared his throat loudly; getting their attention.

"What!?" They both turned to him. He looked serious; nodding to the right. They both look over; seeing Kate leaning against the window.

…

I was glad that Clint saw me standing there. Eventually everyone in the room was staring at me and I could see that they looked regretful that heard most of that conversation. Both of their expression's softened.

"Kate, how much of that did you hear?" Steve said quietly; putting a hand through his hair in an anxious manner. I looked at the floor.

"A good bit of it." I responded quietly. I see his eyes trail to the open vent; about 3 feet away from my feet. That was how I got it; using the elevator as a distraction so I could get in unnoticed. Pepper glanced at the clock.

"Kate, can we talk about this later? I have to get to work." She says; gathering her purse. I gave a small nod and she quickly walked for the elevator. We had a good 10 seconds of awkward silence. Steve tried to avoid eye contact with me; looking for something else to bring up.

"Hey, uh I just recorded the new episode of the walking dead." Clint spoke up with a frown that I could see he was desperately trying to hide. I look at him; then to the floor.

"I think I'm gonna go for a walk." He gives a nod after a few seconds. I started walking around the couch; passing Steve on my way out without another word.

…

Steve walked over to the counter; putting both hands on the edges; deep in thought.

"It could have been worse." Clint says. Steve almost chuckled; pushing off the counter and walking over.

"Really? Worse than that?" He sits down at the diagonal couch from Clint.

"Yeah. It could have been a hell of a lot worse." He says in a serious tone; for once. He put both hands up to his face for a moment; letting out a breath. He then takes his hands away; leaning on one fist.

"What should I do now?" He said; almost more to himself. Clint laughed.

"I don't know. I would go talk to her and clear the air." He says looking back at the TV. Steve closed his eyes for a moment; then stood up.

"Man, is it always like this?" He says; walking for the door. Clint chuckled.

"Welcome to family Drama." He states as Steve walks out.

~0~

I walked past the lake and made my way further down the path. I had my hands in my pockets and a hood over my head.

I was still trying to understand what I just saw back there. It was had to take in what they were talking about. I kinda wish I had listened in the first place; and went to my room.

I took my hands out of my pockets; rubbing them together. It was getting colder; and Halloween was-… holy shit its tomorrow! Well I know what I'm doin. I'll be sitting in my room watching movies. Well- before everything, I would trick-er-treat with Sam around our neighborhood. We usually ended up at another friend's house, but it was always really fun.

I walk past a few people; my gaze lands on them as I walk by. I could see several kids running around playing and a mom and dad sitting on the blanket in the grass. I feel my jaw clench as I pick up the pace; walking out of the park.

A few minutes later I walked into my favorite little bakery. I ordered a small mocha after sitting down.

I look out the window; seeing lots of people as usual walking by.

"Ma'am, here's your drink." I turn; with a smile.

"Thank you-" I locked eyes with the waitress in front of me. "Sam?" I question.

"Kate?!" She yells; looking down with me; almost dropping my mocha.

"What the hell are you doing?" I laugh. She grins.

"Serving you your goddamn mocha. What are you doing here?" She sits down across from me. I shrug.

"Nah, you don't really wanna know." I tell her. She scoffs.

"Well I'm asking, so tell me." She demands. I roll my eyes.

"It's been kinda crazy at the tower." I sigh; you have no idea how crazy.

"I've got time; my lunch break ends in-" She looks at her phone. "-5 minutes." I chuckle.

"Well, I'm debating on going to a SHIELD academy to become a SHIELD agent. But Pepper is bound and determined to make sure I don't. She and Steve got into a small fight about an hour ago. He thinks it should be my choice, but Pepper thinks I'm gonna get killed." I explain. Sam just nodded.

"Well what do you want to do?" She asked. I shrug.

"Overall I want to be an agent. But honestly I don't trust them, and I don't know if I ever will, after, uh the sandbox thing happened." I stare at my drink. She nods. I stare into my drink.

"What else?" She asked. I look up.

"There is nothing el-"

"Don't pull that with me Sanders, I can tell when you're lying." She grins. I sigh.

"It's just something that Pepper said earlier; when she was fighting with Steve, she said that she could tell he was afraid that he wouldn't be good enough to replace what I had already lost- my family obviously- as my guardian. I don't know if it's true or not… I don't know; I just can't stop thinking about it." I mumble as I finish. She lets out a breath and we sat in silence for a moment.

"Don't worry; it'll turn out fine right?" She says. I smirk; still not convinced. I hear the jingle of the door opening; not bothering to look up. "Well, I'll leave you to it." She says' clapping me on the back after standing up. I watch her go; not bothering to follow her with my eyes as I look back down at my drink.

Steve walked into the bakery. The only reason he knew to look here was because Kate liked going here after they ran sometimes. He walked by a few people leaving when a waitress walked up to him.

"She's over there." The waitress nodded behind her. Steve looked at who was talking to him.

"Sam? What are you doing here?" He asked. Sam rolled her eyes.

"Is it not that obvious!?"She said to herself. Steve chuckled.

"Sorry." He states. She shrugged it off.

"Can I get you anything?" He shook his head.

"No thanks." She nods; putting the notepad back on her apron.

"Yeah, so she's over there." She nods behind her again. He looks past her; seeing Kate sitting at one of the tables sipping her drink. He gave Sam a nod before walking past her.

…

"Mind if I sit?" I hear a voice say. I look up; seeing Steve standing where Sam was. I shake my head in reply. He gives a nod; sitting down. I tap my fingers against my cup; looking around. We had a few seconds of awkward silence. "Ok, so… I don't know what you heard back there but-"

"I know what you're going to say, and I don't care." I say with a smile. He closed his mouth.

"I planned a whole speech as I walked over here." He says. I chuckle.

"Sorry to disappoint." He smirks; then nods. I take a sip of my mocha. He stares at the table for a moment.

"Ok, I need to clear the air here, about what Pepper said-"

"I know it's not true." I say; about to drink my mocha. He swallows.

"Uh, actually she's kinda right." He says. I stop my mocha cup from getting to my mouth. "I know you've noticed me acting a bit… um"

"Strange? Nervous? Anxious?" I question. He smirks.

"Yeah, but I've never really been responsible for someone before, let alone a teenager who doesn't have parents anymore- " He immediately stops talking for a second. I roll my eyes.

"its fine, it doesn't faze me to much anymore at the mention of it." Wow, I just completely lied to his face. He looks at me for a moment.

"Yeah, so… I just don't want to mess this up, and I want you to be happy." He says. I smirk.

"You haven't messed up yet, if that makes ya feel better." He chuckles. "And I am happy…" I add. He nods.

"And this is the part where you head back to the Tower like a little happy family." I hear someone say from my right. We look over seeing Sam cleaning up the table next to us; wiping it down with a rag. She grinned. I roll my eyes. I hear a beeping coming from somewhere near us. Steve pulls his phone from his pocket; reading something over.

"I gotta go; Fury needs me at the carrier." He says; standing up. I nod, as he gets ready to walk for the door. "Wanna come?" I look up.

"Wait- you mean, like go to the carrier? _The _Helicarrier." I ask in a serious tone. He smirked.

"Yeah. You wanna come or not? You can get a feel for the whole agent thing while you're at it." He says. I nod; forgetting about my mocha as I struggle not to jump out of my seat and skip toward the door.

"Have fun!" Sam calls as we walk out the door. I wave to her before following Steve out.

**PLEASE READ**

**Ok, I know that was a really short chapter everyone, but that's only because I won't be able to update any time soon with Christmas coming up and a wanted to give you a little something before I go out of town. So here's a little something til after the 26****th****. Have a good Christmas!**

**Revised- **

**Ok, I managed to type up the rest of what I was going to put in this chapter! :) Please please review! I know that a few of you do, but you have no idea what the reviews mean to me! It's like my early Christmas present! :) And Merry Christmas! **


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

**Yeah, so… I lied. :) Ha-ha! I wanted to get this chapter up. And thank you for the reviews everyone! I'm trying to merge your requests as much as I can with future plans that I have. So please stick with me, cause over the next few chapters, things are gonna get interesting! **

I followed Steve off the quinjet thingy and onto the Helicarrier. It was huge; like, a lot bigger than I expected. Plus we were on water! I walked over to the side and looked down. I was cool… but terrifying. I immediately backed up; running into Steve.

"Don't like heights?" He asked. I stepped to the side a bit; shaking my head.

"There not my favorite." I peak over the edge.

"Well then your gonna love this." He says sarcastically. I raise an eyebrow.

"_All flight crew, secure the deck." _I hear a speaker sound. I look behind me; seeing several flight crew people running back out onto the deck; with air masks.

"Oh no." I breathe. He chuckled. I glimpse over the side again and see huge turbines bursting out of the water. "Ok, I'm done." I announce; walking for the nearest door. He smirks, and follows.

After we walked through the door I began to follow him down the hall ways. There were at least 15 different ones we walked down. Then we walked through an opening and into a large dome-like room.

My mouth dropped. This was insane! I begin to look around; not bothering to follow him as he walked up to director Fury.

…

"Rogers what is she doing here?" He asked in a pissed off tone.

"I just wanted to bring her along; she's not doing any harm." He replies. Fury lets out a breath before handed him a mission file.

"You're leaving in 20 minutes. So you better find somewhere to put her cause I'm not your babysitter." Fury makes clear. He wasn't too happy that they decided on bringing her back to the Tower. Steve looks very the information regarding the mission.

"What's the danger level?"

"Minor, shouldn't be a problem for you." He says; then goes back to his work. He closes up the packet; then looks over at Kate.

…

I look down through the windows in the floor. Jesus Christ. I back up and to the center of the walkway.

"Kate-" I look over; seeing Steve nod to the door." We're leaving." He says. I nod; feeling a stab of disappointment; this place was kickass. I jog up to him and follow him back the way we came.

A few minutes later we were just about to the flight deck door when he turned down a different hall.

"Uh-, I thought you said we were leaving." I state; taking one more look at the exit door. He nods.

"We are, just not back to the Tower." He says. I raise an eyebrow; but give a nod. We walk into a different room and I see tons of SHIELD equipment and at the front of the room I see his Captain America suit and shield. Whoa, now that is awesome. He walks over and pulls the shield out.

"Wait!" He stops; raising an eyebrow. "Put it back I need a picture." I say; pulling out my phone.

"Really? You need a picture? We live in the same building." He says with a smirk. I nod.

"Well… yeah, but this is like sacred ground!" I argue. He rolls his eyes; putting the shield back and stepping to the side. I get like 5 different pictures before giving him the all clear.

He comes back a minute later in the suit; shield in hand; but he didn't put the mask on yet.

"Grab the 9mm and anything else you might wanna use." He says. I go to grab the gun then stop. Wait, what he just say?

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, and wait-… Why do I need this stuff?" I question.

"Because you going on to mission with me." He says. "Or do you wanna go back to the Tower?" He adds; standing up straight; eyeing me. I quickly shake my head; grabbing the 9mm and a pair of medium SHIELD cargo pants and a jacket with black combat boots. He smirks; going back to what he was doing while I ran and got changed.

A few minutes later I came back out and grabbed and cool looking knife with the SHIELD symbol carved into it and stuck it in the knife holster on my right calf; while the 9mm was in its holster on my left calf. He picked up his shield and we walked out the door and back toward the flight deck.

After getting to the quinjet; I sat down in one of the seats while two other agents walked past us and to the piolet seats. They eyed me funny; like _who the hell is that? _I give them a quick glare after I'm out of there line of vision.

"So where are we going? And what are we doing exactly?" I ask.

"Were going to an abandoned research base to pick up some information that Fury needs." He says. I nod; feeling the quinjet lift off the ground.

"How long?" I ask; it better not be more than an hour; because if it is, I'm getting air sick. He thinks for a moment.

"5 hours, give or take." He answers plainly. I feel my face drop. He chuckles.

"Well, if ya don't mind, I wanna try and go to sleep; because if I don't I'll probably hurl." I say with a smile; leaving my head back. He nods. I get into a comfortable position and close my eyes.

~0~

I feel someone shaking me awake; I open one eye and see Steve standing in front of me.

"We're here. Nap times over." I groan; sitting up. He starts to walk off the ramp. I see the piolets looking at me and chuckling. I feel my ears shift slightly and go back on my head and I growl escaped my mouth. They grin dropped and they looked at me with slightly scared faces.

"Kate-"Steve calls. I feel my ears shift back and my canine teeth shrink back. I give them a sweet smile before running off the ramp and following Steve into the building.

We walked into the building and I looked around; a bit shocked. Everything was covered in ash and smoke residue.

"Looks like a bomb went off in here." I whisper. He nods.

"Something like that." He says; walking by a door way. There's a sudden crash and he holds up a hand. I immediately stop; a hand on the top of my gun. We look around into the different doors and down the halls. It's silent again and I feel a shiver go down my spine. This was kinda creepy. "Ok, keep quiet and follow me." He says. I nod; pulling the 9mm out and holding it firmly in my hands.

We walk up to a door that said **stairs**. He opens it a crack; peaking in. I look behind us, down the dark hall; this was like a haunted house or something. It was freakin creepy.

"Ok-" He turns back. "I'll go first, you cover me." I give a nod; he opens the door and walks in, then stops. "Just- don't shoot me in the back." I smirk.

"I'm not that reckless. My brother taught me a thing or two about war strategy and undercover operations." He smirks; walking into the stair well and we begin to climb about two flights.

After about three minutes or so; we reached the top level and he opened the door a crack; looking in. He opened the door all the way and we began to walk down the hall. He took the right side of the hall and I just kinda walked to the left. There's another crash closer this time and he holds up a hand again.

I stop; looking around; something catches me eye and I look into the room closest to me. There was a body in the corner of the room. I feel my feet moving me toward it.

"Hey, there's a body in here." I whisper. Steve looked over at me; then at the floor; seeing something.

"No wait- Kate don't go in there." He says. I stop.

"What?" I stop. He was about 4 feet behind me; slightly diagonal of me.

"Something's not right." He says. I roll my eyes.

"It'll be fine-" I walk into the room and I see what he meant. I walk right through a laser detecting system and something blew out the floor. I feel the floor fall out from under me and then it went black.

~0~

"Kate... Kate!" I hear someone yelling. Ouch, god damn it, what did I land on? I feel my eyes open to slits. I move a little; feeling sore.

I open my eyes all the way and see I was about 40 feet down or so and it was pitch black besides from the whole I just fell through. I see Steve on the top floor; looking down. "Are you ok?" He calls down.

"Yeah… I'm fine." I rub my head; sitting up. I had a long gash down my right arm. I huff. Great, just. great. How am I gonna explain that to Pepper when she gets home from work. I look around me; it was pitch black. "Did you find any of the research?" I call up.

"Yeah, I got it." He says. I get to my feet; looking around me; letting my eye sight adjust. It looked like a lab. I feel for the closest wall and feel I light switch. I flick it up and the lights flicker on. I look around me and see something that makes me blood run cold.

There were four dead bodies on the floor. Mostly burned to a crisp; their skeletons showing. I put a hand over my mouth; backing up against the wall.

Oh my god. Oh my god. I take in a few deep breaths; taking a few steps forward. I finally walk up to the bodies; looking them over. Some of their clothing was still there. Something catches my eye from one of them. I kneel down looking over the remaining pieces of one of their clothing. It was a sweater with blue green and red stripes. I knew that sweater.

I feel my breath quicken and I see an ID badge on the floor. With a shaky hand I pick it up; then turn it over.

Mom.

I feel my body begin to shake as I looked over to the closest body. I frantically moved over to it; struggling to not let any tears escape my eyes. I pick up the ID badge and turn it over.

Dad.

I immediately drop it; scooting back across the floor til I was against the counter.

No, it's not true. It's not them! I knew they worked at a lab but this couldn't be them! It- it just couldn't. I scramble from the counter and stand up. I turn back to the bodies on the floor and feel tears start to come down my face. I begin to back up faster; feeling my breath quicken and I full blown run into someone. A small cry escapes my mouth when I turn around; almost punching Steve in the face.

He looks down at me; seeing tears streaming down my face.

"Are you ok?" He asked in a serious tone. I don't even bother answering and immediately rap my arms around his waist and start bawling.

Out of the corner of my eye I see him look over at the bodies slightly behind the counter. He quickly turns me around and we started walking for the door.

…

By the time we got out of the building I stopped crying but looked pretty terrified and lost in thought. We walked onto the ramp and I couldn't help but stare at the building until the ramp went up and I stared at the ramp til we got back.

~0~

Steve walked onto the bridge and threw the file down onto the table; sending Fury a glare.

"A little insight on where we were going might have been helpful Nick." He says. Fury turned; picking up the file.

"Well it wouldn't have been a problem if you hadn't taken her with you."

"Yeah, well thanks to your little mishap in information, she got to see her dead parents." He says. Fury doesn't look up as he looks through the file.

"I'm surprised she didn't remember the lab in the first place." He says. Steve felt the breath leave his lungs for a second.

"You knew her parents would be there?" He said quieter.

"As a matter a fact it did. But at the time I had only assigned one agent to this mission so it didn't matter." He says.

"Didn't matter? Those are Kate's _parents_. You don't have any right in the first place to hide that from her. "Steve says.

"Well if you hadn't brought her along this conversation would have gone much smoother don't you think?" Fury responds. Steve clenched his jaw in annoyance. "Her parents worked for SHIELD. This is what gave me the right to hide that from her. They were working on a level 10 project that went wrong; resulting in, you know who." He says. Steve didn't know how to respond. "She was about 3 years old when her mother brought her to the lab for the day when there was a mishap in their work. Kate got caught in the blast; resulting in her ability, which is permanently fused into her DNA."

"And you didn't think for one second that she should know any of this." He says more to himself. Fury gives him a cold glare.

"Dismissed." Steve gives him a look before heading to the door.

"If you think I'm not telling her any of this you're dead wrong." Steve turns; before walking out.

"I didn't think so." He says as he walked out.

**Boom, yep. That happened…. Please review! It will be like my Christmas present! ;) **


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

**Here's the next chapter everyone!**

I can't believe that out of every science lab in the world, we just happened to stumble upon the one my parents' worked-… and died at. After coming back to the Helicarrier, Steve had an agent bring me back to the Tower while he went to talk to Fury. He seemed kinda pissed off, well not at me really. Just-…. In general I guess.

I walked up to the Tower; walking into the lobby and to the elevator door. This was one thing I would never be able to put behind me. As long as SHIELD was around; I wouldn't be able to forget about all the pain I endured this year.

There had to be more to tis than there seemed to be. There's no way that my parents _aren't _connected to SHIELD, in some sort of way. If Fury needed that information then something was up. Ok, think. What's the easiest way to get good, reliable Intel?

I let out a breath; searching my brain for answers. Oh come on, there gotta be some source that's nearby that I can easily access!-….. Clint's laptop.

I feel a grin come onto my face at me brilliant thinking. Come on, I'm a genius; admit it.

The door opens a few seconds later and I take in a breath. I peeked out of the elevator; seeing no one there. Quietly; I began to walk over to the couch; seeing Clint's SHIELD laptop sitting on the cushion. I need to find out why my parents were there; and what Fury needed from that building.

I sit down and turn it on. Please be logged in. Please be logged in. I wait for it to come up and it turns out; it he hadn't logged out yet. I grin; clicking on previous SHIELD missions, then click on the file labeled last 6 months. Several files pop up and I find the one for the warehouse. I click on it; seeing several pictures of the people that were there with me. I recognize a few; seeing a deceased label next to their pictures.

I clench my jaw; scrolling down farther rather quickly. I see my picture and click on it; then click on relations. A big label that said CLASSIFIED popped up. I slam my hand on the arm of the couch. Then I hear the sound of the elevator and quickly close the laptop; tossing it back to where it was on the couch. I turn around; seeing Clint walk in.

"Hey Kate, did you have fun on the carrier?" Clint says; walking over. I nod; slowly sliding my right arm under the pillow so he didn't see the bandage. He sits down at the other couch; about to grab his laptop. Shoot, I'm dead.

"What did you do there?" He asked; stopping for a moment. I shrug.

"Not much just wandered around and stuff." I say. He gives a slow nod. He sits for a few more seconds; eyeing me. Then he stood up; walking around the couch to my right.

Before I could react he pulled the pillow off my arm. I tried to hide the bandage but it was too late.

"Would this be the other _stuff_?" He says; looking down at my arm. I curse under my breath. "What did you do?" He says. I open my mouth to speak when the elevator door opened and Steve walked out; a file in hand. I let out a breath; at least I can explain it better now.

"Hey, do you know how this happened?" Clint asked; gesturing to my arm. He slowed down; giving me a quick glance.

"Yeah, uh. We'll have to explain it in a little more detail." He says. Clint nods walking toward his laptop. "Just go under recent missions, should be the first one."

"I'll pull up the mission report." He says; plopping down on the couch and getting his laptop. Steve walks over behind him.

"I-" I don't have time to finish as he pulls up the top and my recent search comes onto the screen. They both see what's on the screen; then look up at me. "I can explain..." I start.

"You don't have to." Steve says; walk around the couch and handing me a file. I look up at him; then down at the file. "Don't open it just yet." He says. I nod; staring at the cover anxiously. He walks back over to explain to Clint. He pulls up the mission report; reading it over.

"You got to go on your first mission?" Clint says with a grin. I nod; trying to fake smile. Clint notices and glances at Steve; who shakes his head to drop it. Clint just nods; reading over to information. His expression darkens as he continues to read it over.

I wait somewhat patiently; then hear the elevator door open; seeing Pepper and Natasha walk out. Oh great. Now we have to explain this all over again.

"Hey guys!" Pepper calls. "Hey Kate, did you have fun on the carrier?" She asked. I nod; not saying anything. I really don't want to talk about this. I know it wasn't Steve's intention to have me see my dead parents on my first mission, but it was a little inconvenient that it had to happen that way. Now I honestly don't feel like being an agent really.

Natasha walked over and started to read over Clint shoulder.

"I'll be right back." I say; then walk toward the stairs.

...

They all look up; watching Kate hastily walk for the door and disappear up the stairs.

"Why didn't Fury mention this at all?" Clint says.

"Level 10." Steve answered plainly. Because that was how SHIELD worked. If you weren't clearance level whatever; it was none of your business.

"Hey parents were SHIELD agents?" Natasha says; still reading.

"Yeah, and guess where she got her ability from?" Steve says; putting a hand through his air.

"An explosion in the lab... What were they doing?" Clint says; reading.

"She was only 3 years old when it happened... So her mother brought her to the lab because they didn't have a babysitter to watch her?" Natasha says to herself.

"That resulted in her ability; which is permanently fused into her DNA." Steve finishes.

"Christ." Clint mumbles. Pepper listened as they spoke amongst each other.

"Does she know?" Pepper asked.

"Most of it. God, I'm such an idiot." Steve mumbles.

"You couldn't have known; none of us did." Natasha says; looking over Clint shoulder.

"What part doesn't she know about?" Pepper asked.

"About her ability and her parents being SHIELD agents." Steve says. They all glance at the file she left on the couch.

"Should we tell her?" Pepper asked.

"She should know." Clint says. Natasha and Steve nod in agreement.

~0~

I stared out my window; sitting at my desk. I couldn't help but think about all the memories I still had left from my parents and brother. They were getting fuzzy and I didn't want to lose any of those.

I sniffle; wiping my eyes on my shoulder. Tomorrow was Halloween. Great.

**Ok I know it's a bit short but… oh, I just couldn't help myself. :) I love updating this so I wanna keep you all updated and now that the break started I have a lot more time to work on this. Please review! So have a Merry Christmas everyone! Or, if you celebrate any other holiday, I hope you enjoy it as well! :) **


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

**Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas everyone! Here's your next chapter. Please review and tell me if you liked it! :)**

Steve walked up to Kate's door; lightly knocking.

"Kate?" He called; waiting for a response. "Hey, listen. Uh, Fury gave me the file. If you wanna look at it you can." He says. There still wasn't a response. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Kate?" He lightly turned to knob; realizing it was open. He walked into the room; looking around. The window was open.

_Oh no._ He thought.

He picked up the speed; walking to the window and looking down. No one. He backed up a little, next to the desk; seeing a note sitting on the sketch book he gave her. He picked it up; quickly reading it.

_Ok, I don't really know how to start. But than to say; I have to go away for a bit. It's none of your faults and I don't want to leave. But I have to. Steve, I know your probably reading this right now so let me say that I don't blame you for what I saw at the building. And I know that the information in that file is just the bits and pieces that Fury wants me to believe so I'll drop it. But I can't do that. I have to find out what happened to my parents. Please, none of you should come looking for me; I'll be fine. Ha, and I know you'll all have a nice Halloween._

_Until next time,_

_Kate_

Steve quickly folded the note; running for the elevator.

~0~

"Got any 3's?" Clint asked.

"No, go fish." Tony replied. Clint huffed; picking up a card. Steve suddenly ran out of the elevator; and grabbed the file on the table. Clint turned around; raising an eyebrow.

"What's the hurry?" He asked.

"Kate's gone." He says; going for the stairs.

"What?!" He threw done his cards; hopping over the couch. "What'd ya mean she's gone?" He stands a few meters away.

"She said she needed to go look for her parents' research. And she knew the file didn't contain the truth." He says.

"Well can we do anything?" Natasha spoke up; getting from her seat at her SHIELD laptop.

"Yeah. Find out anything you can from SHIELD or the other people they worked for." He threw on some shoes before heading for the door.

"And I'm guessing your gonna follow her?" Natasha says. He doesn't respond as he disappeared into the stairwell.

~0~

**A few minutes earlier...**

I set the note down on my desk; letting out a breath.

I'm still unsure about this. I mean, I know for a fact that Steve won't approve, and neither will anyone else... But I need to know the truth. If I don't find it out for myself, then no one will tell me. I know Fury is just giving me the bits and pieces of information that don't matter.

I put on my black leggings, a dark navy tank with the SHIELD symbol on the top left corner of the front of the shirt, and a brown leather jacket. I slipped on my black combat boots; lacing them up. Natasha gave me the SHIELD shirt when I first got here. I was uncomfortable wearing it at first; but who knows. Maybe it will come in handy!

I walk toward the window; pulling it up and looking down. I gulp. God dammit I hate heights. Ooo! - wait. I walk away from the edge and get down on my hands and knees; pulling a box out from under my bed. I open it; taking a deep breath.

Inside was my 9mm pistol that Steve made me keep. I don't know why he said to keep it in my room; but it was coming in handy now!

I grin; putting in in the back of my pants and then walking back to the window. I take a few deep breaths. Leaning out; seeing several dozen stories down. Ok, remember to shift. I slowly place my foot out on the ledge; more than half my body hanging out the window.

Suddenly there was a knock at my door.

"Kate?" That was Steve. I feel my body tense; and then my foot slip. Next thing I knew I was falling and the air was rushing by my face. I feel my eyes go wide and the world was spinning around me. I could see the side of Stark Tower whipped by as I picked up speed.

Then I start to feel my form shift. Suddenly my arms turned to wings and my feet turned to talons. I was flying! I look down; seeing I had turned into a bird. I fly around in front of the tower; looking through my newly found eyes; giving me enhanced vision. I look up at my window; seeing Steve had walked into my room; glancing out the window before picking up the note.

I feel a stab of guilt as I see his expression change and he lowered his hand containing the note before running for the door. I'm feeling bad now. - But, I can stop now. I turn my head away; flying away from the tower.

~0~

I had been flying for several hours now. And sense I didn't even know the exact location… this was turning out to be a bit harder than I originally thought.

I look down; seeing the rural land passing under me. I hadn't been this far out in a while. It was nice; getting away from the city for once- well, without seeing your dead parents.

I fly for a few more minutes before seeing a very familiar site. My eyes widened and I cocked my head to the side; looking down. My home town. I swallow; flying lower 'til I perched on a big branch on a tree. I feel my form shift back to normal; I shake my head, blinking a few times. My vision went back to normal; it was a little weird a first but it adjusted quickly.

Ok… now I have to get down. I look around; seeing I was about 20 feet in the air. I gulp. Oh god. Why the hell did I just do that?!

I swallow; inching my way to the inner part of the tree. I slowly begin to climb down; jumping the last 3 feet and landing on my ass. God dammit. I blow the bangs from my face; getting to my feet before brushing myself off.

I put hand through my hair and look around. Nothing. Happened. Ok, I need a disguise.

I look around me. There was an older lady watering some flowers, a man jogging with his dog, and two kids biking down the street. Ok, what would be the best animal to get through the neighborhood unnoticed? Well, this is a pretty rural area, so farm animals commonly get out of their pastures. I could do a dog or cat. But in my neighborhood, there are a lot of watch dogs for people who own lots of land. So I don't want to send the wrong message that I'm an escape guard dog on the loose; causing panic. And I can't be a cat, due to the large population of dogs in the area.

I start to walk down the side of the gravel road; my arms crossed over my chest. C'mon, there's gotta be something that I can shift into that would not draw _too _much attention but would be fun to be while I searc-

I stop in my tracks; seeing a horse pasture to my left. I feel a grin come onto my face.

**A little short, I know. But I'm gonna try and post the part 2 tonight! It's almost done. :) Please review! **


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

**Here's the part 2 everyone! I knew that I would be to long for one chapter, so I just went ahead and split it. ;) Enjoy!**

Steve turned off his motorcycle before flicking up the kickstand and swinging his leg off. He looked around before pulling out his phone.

"Clint?" He started.

…

"Hey Cap, I got some info for ya." Clint says; having the phone on speaker.

"_Got a location, or maybe some coordinates?" _Steve asked. Clint clicked a few things on his SHIELD laptop before responding.

"Well she doesn't know the exact location of the lab soooooo…." He trails off; taking a bite of his sandwich. "-she'd probably head toward her home town." He finishes; swallowing.

…

Steve looks around him; he had just driven all the way to the lab. He lets out a breath.

"Sure thing, Barton. I'll head there now." He says.

"_Have fun._" Clint says. Steve merely rolled his eyes before hanging up; getting _back_ on his motorcycle.

~0~

**A few hours later… **

I felt my body finish shifting and I took in a deep breath; letting out a snort. I look down, seeing two hoofs. I shake my mane; looking myself over. This is freakin awesome. I swallow; looking around me; seeing a small pond.

I look down at my newly found hoofs. Ok… how do you work these? I slowly lift my left front hoof; then paw the ground. I look to my back feet. I was a jet black horse, awesome. I take a few steps forward. I feel a neigh escape my mouth.

This is so freakin cool. I don't know where to start with this. I'll be able jump fences and explore miles of land in the area without giving people a second thought!

I pick up speed trotting over to the pond; getting a quick drink before looking around at the other horses in the pasture with me. Ok, let's get going.

I pick up a canter as I start north toward the more- well, city area. There was at least 100 miles before I hit it, but the lab was somewhere in between.

~0~

**A few hours later…**

I trotted over the hill; shaking my mane from my face as I came to a halt. I saw two guys on motor bikes. I snorted; nodding my head.

Well, I guess I could take a break real quick. I shake my mane from my face again before picking up a canter; getting down the hill. They were going pretty slow, about 10 mph. I cantered up beside them; the fence between us. One of them looked over; chuckling before looking to his friend and nodding to me. I could see him smirk and they nodded to each other to speed up.

I felt my hooves pound the ground a bit faster and the canter sped up. They laughed to themselves as they picked up the speed. Now I was galloping. My neck stretched out farther and my breath staggered to the beat I was running.

35

37

40

We continued to pick up speed and they smirks fell from their faces as we reach 45mph. That was the top speed for a horse to run at. I continued to hold the gait as best I could.

Christ, I've never run this fast before. I need to slow do-

Suddenly I realized that there was a fence ahead. Oh no. A neigh escaped my mouth as I slammed on the brakes and my front hooves struck the air as I came in contact with the fence.

_Bang!_

I crashed into the fence and hit the ground with a thud. Ow, god dammit. I'm such a klutz. I lift me head from the ground; seeing the two guys laughing and driving away. Crap, I had them!

I stumble as I try to get up; shaking my mane from my face; letting out a snort. Suddenly a pain shot through my leg as I look down. I was tangled in the god damn wires. Great.

Suddenly I heard a motor in the distance. My ears perked up as I looked to my left; back where I came. That sounded a lot like. Suddenly I motorcycle came into view and I felt my eyes widen. It was Steve's motorcycle.

I feel a chill run up my spine as I try to act casual; covered in a few scratches; tangled in the fence. Ok, get up! I struggle again; this time I found myself on my feet before slipping and crashing to the ground again. A neigh escaped my mouth instead of a cry of pain as another piercing feeling shot through my like a blot of lighting.

He was getting closer darn it. I look back up. Shit, he saw me. I clumsily kick out; trying to get up again. I look up seeing him look over at me; furrowing his eyebrows and slowly his bike down.

Aw hell no. Don't let your good-patriotic side kick in, Steve. Just keep. Going.

But no, he pulls his bike over and swings his leg over. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. If he sees my eyes I'm screwed. It's so easy to tell sense I have a light blue, and a dark blue eye. He stepped under the fence and taking a few steps forward. I feel my ears go back and I raised my head a little higher. Dude, back. Off.

But knowing him, he decided to help and next thing I knew he was untangling the wire. I saw one of the wires go and then it was off. I jumped to my feet and for some reason didn't realize I was still attached and ended up face planting again. Another neigh escaped my mouth as I struggled more. Jesus Christ!, Come on! It can't be that strong!

"C'mon, calm down." He says; I feel him untangle the wire again and I stay still for a moment. Once he's clear, I need to bolt.

I see him look up and he looked at my face for a moment. Something changed in his expression that I didn't like. He stopped what he was doing; looking into my eye for a moment. "Kate?" He said quietly. I let out a snort; looking around. Kate? Who's Kate? What's a Kate?

He clenched his jaw for a moment; thinking. I let out a snort; shaking my mane. Then I hear a snap and see the he had taken the last wire off. Go! I jumped to my feet before he could say anything else and bolted up the hill. Wait… why did the wire make a snap sound? I look down seeing something on my lower leg. Suddenly I felt a small stab of electricity and I was on the ground in an instant. I hit the ground and neighed. What the hell Steve!? Ow. I rolled a few feet and came to a stop; covered in dirt.

I cough and groan. - Wait, horses don't groan do they? I look down… I had shifted back. Oh no. I was about to get to my feet when I looked up; seeing Steve standing in front of me; arms crossed.

"What the hell was that!?" I yell; putting a hand to my head. He was quiet for a second.

"What'd you think you're doing?" He says. Oh no. He was pissed I could see in in his eyes, he was so mad at me… which was a first for him.

"You know what I'm doing. So why'd ya follow me?" I ask; sounding calmer now; knowing it will piss him off even more. I blow the bangs from my face; leaning on one arm; still sitting on my ass.

"Because, knowing you; you're going to get yourself into trouble which can be easily avoided. And because you ran away from the tower." He says; getting a little louder. I roll my eyes; pushing myself to my feet.

"What the hell did you hit me with? And how did you know it was me?" I ask; stumbling as I got on my feet.

"Something Banner designed. It disable's your ability for a few seconds; turning you back. As long as it's on, you can't shift." He says. "Comes in handy, especially if I need to ground you." He adds; and I send a glare at him when he cracks a smile. "And one; you eye color is pretty unique when you shift, and two; you still have that gash on your arm." He says notch-handedly. I look down; seeing it had reopened when running with those two bikers. I let out a breath; looking around me. "Come on. We're going back." He says. I don't follow him when he turns to walk away.

"No." I answer plainly. He turns back; looking at me. "I need to see this through. And you can't stop me." I add. I'm so gonna get my ass grounded, if he'll go that far- which I think he's not afraid to crack down on me now. He looks at me for a moment; I can't read his expression as he puts a hand to his temple. I feel a smirk come onto my face; welcome to the teenage years, Steve. "You're either with me or against me." I start to take a few steps back. He thinks for a moment before looking back up at me.

"Fine." He says. I stop; raising an eyebrow.

"Fine what?" I ask. He lets out a breath.

"I'll help you find what you need." He says. Oh thank god, I have no idea where I'm going! I smile.

"Good. Let's go!" I start to walk past him toward his ride; seeing him smirk out of the corner of my eye.

I get to his bike; hopping on the back.

"So can I take this off?" I ask. He turns the key; bringing the engine to life.

"Nope." I freeze for a moment. Excuse me?

"Um, why?"

"Because you're grounded." He says. There it is. I throw my hands in the air.

"Typical." I mutter. He chuckles before we start down the road.

**Hope you liked the chapter everyone! Sorry I didn't post it last night like I said, I've got a cold so I'm trying to get better so I can update for you all! Please review! **


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

**Next chapter's up everyone! :) Enjoy!**

We still hadn't gotten to the lab yet. I was getting bored and tired... And God did I need to stretch. Plus I get back car sick.

"Can you stop?" I ask. He gives me a quick glance; looking ahead.

"Um, sure?" He slows down; I hop off before we even stop all the way. I groan; kneeling close to the ground.

"You ok?" He raised an eyebrow. I swallow and nod.

"I just- need to walk." I get up and start to walk into the woods.

"Don't be gone too long." He says. I turn; giving him a nod.

"Where am I gonna go?" I question.

"Knowing you, anywhere." He says. I could see he was suspicious; I had to be quick.

Once I was out of his line of sight I looked around me; then sat by the nearest tree stump and picked up a rock; looking at the device on my lower leg. I need to get it off.

I started to hit it with the rock; prying at it to try and break it loose.

...

A few minutes later I jabbed the rock at it one more time and it chipped away the lock; opening and letting my ankle breathe. I let out a breath; slumping back. Ok, step two- … get to the lab.

~0~

I walk through the front door; then walk over to the front desk; going behind it and opening all the drawls. Come on, there must be something here. I shuffle through the papers; seeing something blue at the bottle. I pull it out and unfold it; placing it on the desk. It was the blueprints to the building. I quickly look them over.

Maintenance, no. Electrical room, no. I continue to look when one catches my eye. There was a blank room; no writing.

I grin; looking for the floor number. Ok, third level; hallway D. I leave the blue prints on the desk and walk toward the stairway. I still remembered most of it pretty well.

…

I had been searching around the second level first for an hour or so. Who knows what might be around here, but I didn't find anything of value.

I walk back out into the stairwell. I quietly opened the door; looking up. It was much darker sense it was about 5pm right now. I open it all the way and it creaks loudly. I tense before quickly closing it to a crack behind me. I begin to walk up the stairs 'til I got to the landing, about as big as a small room. I go to push the door open-

"-did you find anything?" My hand stopped and my body froze.

"No. Look over there." There was another voice. I swallow; putting my head close to the crack; looking in.

"Just find it! We won't get the money if we don't find the research." Another guy; great. I could see the men dressed in mostly black clothes.

"It doesn't matter; as long as we do as they said and get the girl we'll still be rich. She's the scientists' only living relative."

"She's the chick with the ability right?"

"Yeah. She's a shifter." I felt my blood run cold. There's looking for my parent's research? - Wait, scratch that, they want me too!?

Suddenly someone grabbed me; not to hard but not gently either, and pulled me away from the door. I almost let a cry escape my mouth when someone pushed me against the wall; putting a hand over my mouth. I could literally hear my heart beat in my ears.

I look up; seeing it was only Steve. He puts a finger to his lips. I nod; and he takes his hand away. I'm gonna kill him. It's official.

"Why did you follow me?!" I whisper- well, it was close to a shout. He doesn't answer; looking through the crack in the door.

"You think I was going to let you run off _again_ to take care of this by yourself?" He responds in a whisper; glancing at me, I could see he was defiantly hiding his anger at the moment. I look at him for a second before we both turn our attention back to the door.

"Go back down stairs." One guy says. I swallow hard.

"Great what no-" he pushes me back to the far wall; behind the door. It creaks open and a guy walks out. Then Steve pushed the door closed and the guy turned; looking shocked. He sent one quick punch; knocking the guy out and catching him by the front of the bullet proof vest he was wearing. I moved out of the way as he pulled him behind the door. I look down at the guy. "Ya know there were at least 10 other ways we could have solved that problem." I state. He doesn't respond as I follow him down the stairs.

We get down to the bottom and he turns suddenly.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He starts. I make a sudden stop and look up at him.

"I was trying to find the information." I tell him.

"By sabotaging my bike and running off _again_?" He somewhat asked. I shrug it off. Ok, yeah. Maybe I did mess with his bike; but it wasn't anything serious; I just stalled out the engine; or something like that- ok, it was something my brother taught me.

"Well you weren't getting that my parent's research was none of your business."

"We can help you, Kate. Don't you get that you don't have to do this alone?" He says; sounding a little less mad.

"Yes I do. Ok? Don't you get it?! These people want either my parent's research, or me. This is something I HAVE to do alone." I argue my point.

"No it's not." He argues back. "Don't you understand that you can die, doing stuff like this? I don't want that to happen." He says. I swallow. Ii know he's just being protective, but at some point he's gonna have to deal with the fact that I need to fight my own battles.

"Yeah. I do understand that, my parents died doing hell knows what and I want to know why that is." We have a few seconds of glaring at each other before we saw two people walk into the building. The stop and look at us. Oh no. Do they recognize me?

"Are they friends?" I whisper. They stare at us for a moment; I see one slowly reaching for his gun.

"No." Steve responds. They suddenly open fired and next thing I knew; we were running for the next hall. We break into a sprint and I see the bullets flying around us as we ran. I know I'm not as fast as him. I now realize smart stuff over here didn't bring his shield. Whoop.

I feel my form start to shift suddenly before I could stop myself; and next thing I knew I was on all fours and coming to a halt. I glanced down; seeing I was in wolf form.

The guys were now inches away; I felt my jaws rap around one of the men's legs and I heard a bone crushing snap. He fell to the ground with a cry of pain and I could feel warm sticky blood filling my mouth.

Oh god. I got a queasy feeling but that was quickly hidden as I let go of the guy and jumped; bringing the other guy to the floor. I snapped at his leg as well; shaking it violently.

The guy let out a cry and I couldn't control myself very well. I felt a growl escape my mouth and suddenly a feeling of angry swept over me. These people wanted my parent's life's work... For money. And if they couldn't find that; they wanted me anyway.

What kinda cruel bastards do that?!

"Kate." Steve says sternly. I stop shaky the guy and look over at him. "Let go of him." He says.

I growl; I want to make him pay. They have no right to take anything that belonged to my family; let alone me. "Kate." He says again a little louder. I growl louder; sinking my teeth a bit deeper; hearing him almost scream in pain... and then I let go of his leg. The guy was just about out cold now as I stalked past him and for the door.

...

We walk out the door and I realize what I had done. I was letting my ability take over. My anger just made it harder for me to stop. Maybe he was right; if I don't do this alone maybe it will be harder to deal with the problem.

I don't want to shift back after that. That isn't like me; I'd never hurt someone like that. Oh god-... I can still taste the blood in my mouth.

I feel a whine escape my throat as I stop; looking around. What now? I know he was walking out of the door behind me. And I know he knows that I want to get the research as much as the next person.

But knowing him... We're going back to the tower.

"Hey." I hear him walk over and kneel down to my left. I feel my ears go back and I look away. Wait- why am I doing this? Ok, gotta shift back, gotta shift back.

Next thing I knew I was sitting cross-cross in my human form... And also realizing the site of blood makes me nauseous, let alone the taste of someone else's in my mouth...

I immediately got up and ran over to the nearest bush; going behind it. I now realize I'm throwing up. Whoop. After a few seconds I felt the feeling die down a bit; then I felt a hand on my shoulder and I tense. Oh great- don't break down, don't break down.

"I'm sorry." He says simply. Oh great, ya did it. I turn a little; facing him slightly. "I know that this means a lot to you, and if you want to find out what happened to your parents we want to help. Clint, Natasha, they've been searching for anything they can find sense you left." Wait- what? They have? But, why would they just- do that for no reason? They work for SHIELD too, and I know that being loyal to their jobs should outrank the fact that I want to know about my parents.

"But I never asked them to." I say; wiping my mouth with my sleeve before turning and sitting on a step of the building; ignoring the fact that there are hostile people inside.

"You didn't have to. They're your family too." He says; sitting down next to me. I sniffle; staring at the ground. This is literally hurting me. I know that they all really care about me, but I can't just forget about my biological family! They are the reason I'm here… but the only reason I'm alive is because of Steve and everyone else. God, this is so complicated.

I take a few deep breaths, regaining my self-control before standing up.

"Can we just look on more time?" I ask quietly. He looks at me for a moment.

"We?" He says; a small smirk appearing on his face. I nod. He lets out a breath before nodding. "Ok, just- we have to be careful. I'm gonna call in some reinforcements; we don't know how dangerous these people are." He pulls out his phone. I smile and nod. But I couldn't help but feel I wouldn't like what I was going to find.

**Hope you enjoyed! Don't worry, you'll find out the deal with her parent's in the next chapter. And there will be some father-daughter relationship stuff between Kate and Steve next chap too. Please review! **


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

**So sorry it took me awhile to update! Busy break! Thanks for the reviews everyone! I know everyone has requests and I'm glad some of you appreciate that! :) I'll try my best to fulfill them best I can! Enjoy the chap! Oh! - Also, just a little note. So, I live in a- well, pretty much a dead zone. I don't get good connection and it can take up to 24 hours (or more!) for me to receive some of your reviews or PM's. /: Sooooo, yeah. Sorry if it was a little inconvenient for you at the time, just wanted to let you all know. :) **

I picked up a file; fumbling through it quickly. We've been searching for three hours or so now and found nothing. Absolutely nothing. The people that were here just-… disappeared when we got back up to the third floor. They probably got what they wanted, dammit.

I slammed the folder down on the table before slamming my fist down on the desk in annoyance. God dammit! There's absolutely nothing left here of value! Those bastards got what they wanted.

"We'll find it ok?" Steve says from the other side of the room.

"How are you so sure?" I snap; looking over at him. Ok, that was a little uncalled for; probably could have said it a little nicer. He lets out a breath and a small shrug.

"I just am." He says plainly. I huff; clenching my jaw.

"Easy for you to say. You don't know what it feels like; being told your parents were killed from unknown causes then finding out that there are people that want _you _because of your relation to them." I mumble.

"Hey-" he walks over; putting a hand on my shoulder. "I might not have gone what you're going through, but I know how you feel." He says. I make a face; not convinced. "Look, I know what it's like to be scared. Believe me." He chuckles; cracking a small smile.

"Really?" I mumble; more sarcastically than serious. He nods with a chuckle.

"I know that we don't understand what happened with you parents, and it's ok to be afraid of the truth. Everyone feels fear, Kate." He says.

"Even the mighty Avengers?" I scrunch my nose in question. He smirks; rolling his eyes, and pulls me into a hug.

"Yes, Kate. Even the mighty avengers." He repeats; amused. I hug him around the waist before we hear someone clear there throat from the door.

"Hate to break up your little bonding moment guys, but Nat's got something." Clint says; leaning against the door frame. I roll my eyes, and then follow him out.

We walked into a room when Natasha was reading a file. She looked up; nodding us over.

"I found this in the desk. It's some kind of diagram." She sets it down on the table. There was a picture a body and several red dots on it in certain places.

"Why are there dots on this paper?" Clint asked. We shrug.

"Maybe there places where they injected something?" I suggest. "Or maybe it's some kind of…" I trail off. Well, honestly I'm no scientist. "Yeeeaaaaahh… I don't really know." I admit; walking around the room. I pick up a book; opening it up and flipping through the pages before setting it back down. I pick up another book and flip through it. Something fell out and hit the floor. I furrow my eyebrows before picking it up. It was a letter.

_Because of the recent mishap in our work, I am calling for Project R to be canceled. Our experiments have proven fatal towards subjects and only one has survived. The enhancer proves to cause subjects to have feelings of anger and distress. It brings out the darkest feelings and memories of the subject; causing hallucinations, fever, disorientation, which is followed by coma and even death due to no known treatment._

_Certain subjects would have allergic reactions, heart attacks, and immediate mood changes; seconds after receiving a dose of the enhancement. _

_It has come to my attention that no human can survive the transaction and therefor I advise for this Project to be terminated._

_Sincerely,_

_Dr. Mike Sanders and Dr. Miranda Sanders_

I stared at the letter for a few minutes; reading it over a few more times before swallowing and blinking a few times. Those were my parents.

"What's that?" I heard Steve from behind me and handed him the letter. I turned to face everyone; seeing him reading the letter and Natasha and Clint began to read it over his shoulder.

"That's me there referring to." I spoke up.

"But you never received the enhancement." Steve says; looking over at me while Natasha and Clint continued to read. I furrowed my eyebrows. "There was an accident in the lab and you were caught in the blast. That's how you got your ability." He says. I feel my eyes trail to the ground.

"So… the actual enhancement didn't work…. But the accident did." I give a sarcastic laugh.

"I managed to dig up some details, and they were working with several different animals that day and they had several millions lines of DNA strands from different animals." Natasha says; finishing reading. I looked at her. "This could be how you got your shifting ability." She says. I nod.

"But I don't want to know how I got to be how I am now. I want to know how my parents were killed. Someone did this." I start to walk back for the door.

~0~

A SHIELD team cleaned up the bodies in the lab so I could go down there without breaking down. I walked around the counter and began to look through some of the equipment. Most of it was falling apart.

"Hey I think I got something." Clint says from the corner of the room. We all walked over; seeing him holding some kind of box. I walked closer.

"It's a camera." I state. "We could find out who did this."

"It may not have been anyone Kate. They're could have been a malfunction of some kind of another mishap in their work." Steve reminds me. I huff; looking back at the camera.

"We can have some agents clean it up and look it over. But that's probably all we can do today." Natasha says. I feel a stab of disappointment but nod. We began to walk back to the door.

~0~

**A few hours later on the Helicarrier….**

"We managed to get a little of the footage, but not much." One of the agents says. We gave a nod and he pushed play.

I could see my parents working with another scientist behind the counter. My dad had a flask in hand and my mom was working on some device next to him. Suddenly another guy dressed in a lab coat ran into the room; holding a small box about the size of his hand.

I furrow my eyebrows; looking closely. "Is that a detonator?" I ask nervously.

"Yes. This individual managed to set up bombs in the room at some point." The agent said. I swallow and nod; trying to hold it together.

The guy began to yell and my dad held up his hands; trying to calm the man down. The sound was gone but you could tell what was happening. He yelled at them again and my parents and the other scientist looked down at a small flask of some kind of blue liquid. He picked it up and tossed it to the man. But before he caught it the other scientist ran around the counter at the man and he pushed to button. The screen went black.

I blinked out of my thoughts and a tear went down my cheek. I quickly wiped it away; hiding away any emotion on my face.

"So someone threatened them for the enhancement. One of the scientists didn't want him to get away with it and…" He nods; everyone knowing where his statement was going.

"Ok, let's go." I say; walking out the door; leaving Steve, Clint, and Natasha to follow. My parent's didn't deserve that. I'm going to find who was behind this.

**Ok. So you all know what happened now, and now Kate feels the need to do a little avenging. *grins* so check in for the next chapter, please review! :) **


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

**Hope you all enjoyed the last chapter; please review if you enjoyed this one! :)**

I stared at the ceiling; lying on my bed. We got back sometime last night, and I didn't really feel like communicating with anyone so I just went to bed. I woke up the next morning, went for a quick run with Steve; we only talked a little bit; and then I went back to my room for a bit. I had a lot to think about.

Now that I know what went down in the lab, I feel a weight lifted off my shoulders. But it also added an empty feeling. I don't know what to do next; I can't go after these people by myself. Heck I wouldn't know where to start.

Suddenly there was a knock at my door. I stare at the ceiling for a few more seconds before glancing at the entrance to my room. Looking back at the ceiling for a few more seconds I drag myself out of bed before walking to the door; rubbing my eyes. I was tired and not in the mood for anything.

I open the door and see Steve. He smiled… and I faked a smile. "Hey, feel like going anywhere?" He asked. I blink a few times; swallowing.

"Uh, I don't know." I shrugged my answer. "Where?"

"I can't really tell you that." He says. I let out a long breath. Why do you got to be so damn confusing some times. I guess some fresh air would be good.

"Sure." I shrug. He nods and I grab my coat before following him down the hall.

~0~

We walked around some trees before I could see where we were headed. It was the Central Park Zoo.

"What-er we doin here?" I slur. He smirks; giving me a look.

"Well I thought we could go cave diving and maybe go rock climbing." He says. I look up at him; very confused. "I'm kidding." He says after a few seconds with a smirk. I let out a small chuckle; putting my hands in my pockets. I'm so stupid.

He already had the tickets and after we walked in we stopped after a few seconds.

"Where to first?" He asked. I shrug; looking around. There were Polar Bears, Penguins, Snow Leopards, and some others that I forgot about.

"Snow Leopards?" He nods and we start to walk over.

~0~

I stared into the enclosure. They were all hiding right now I guess cause there we no leopards in sight.

"Mommy, I want to see the kitty." I narrowed my eyes. I knew that voice from somewhere. I looked to my right; recognizing them immediately. It was the mother and daughter from the park; the ones where I chased off the thief guy. I smile to myself as I look away.

"I'll be right back." I whisper to Steve. I ran around the corner before he could answer.

…

Steve looked slightly to his right as Kate disappeared into an employee only area; raising an eyebrow.

"Mommy look, look! It's the Kitty!" He glanced to his left; seeing a snow leopard walk up to the edge, looking at them. He recognized the eye coloring and smiled to himself.

The leopard (Kate) walked a bit closer, putting its front paws on the glass. The young girl giggled, placing her hands where Kate's paws were. She went back down on all fours; rubbing up against the glass. The girl giggled again and touched the glass; pointing.

"See mommy?" She looked up at her mom.

"Yes honey, I see." She laughs, kneeling down with her daughter. Steve crossed his arms; watching Kate paws at the glass once more before disappearing farther into the enclosure.

…

That was adorable. I sneak out of the employee only area and walked up on Steve's right.

"I didn't get caught." I make clear. He smirks; looking back over at the 4 year old.

"Do you know them from somewhere?" He asked; seeing the way I was eyeing them.

"It's complicated." I watched them walk away. He looked down at me before nodding.

"So" He started. "Where to next?" He asked. I looked around for a moment; seeing the Penguins. I nod toward them and he looks over. "Ok." He says. We started walking over to the enclosure.

~0~

A few hours had gone by and now we were over at the Polar bear enclosure. As we were looking into the icy water at the bears, a thought popped into my head.

"If I pushed you in… how long would it take for you to freeze? And if so, how long would you stay alive?" I asked; in a curious tone; not looking up at him. He looked down at me, slightly confused that I would ask such a question. I looked up at him.

"Well aren't you just a little rain of sunshine." He chuckled. I give a squinty smile before glancing back down into the enclosure.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen, the park will be closing soon." _A speaker announced. I feel a stab of disappointment as we looked toward the way we came.

"Well… we should probably head back." Steve says. I nod and we started walking toward the entrance.

…

A few minutes later, as we passed by the gifts shops I saw a snow leopard stuffed animal in the window. I stopped; looking at it. Smiling to myself and remembering my previous shift.

"Hey, I'll be out in a sec." I turned to him. He looked into the shop.

"Wanna get something?" I nodded; pulling out my wallet and walking in before he could say anything else. I walked around for a couple minutes before grabbing the stuffed animal in the window and walking for the check-out. I walked up; putting the snow leopard on the counter and dug out a 10 dollar bill. "Hang on, I'll get it." He says; appearing behind me; pulling some cash out.

"No I got it-" I insist.

"No, that's not how it works." He says with a smirk. I roll my eyes with a smirk; stepping out of the way as the cashier took the money. "Want anything else?" He asked. I look around. I don't really wanna be picky… but I am hungry….

"Could you by any chance grab a snickers bar behind you?" I asked with an innocent smile. He smirked and nodded; handing over the $1 and turning around the get the candy bar.

She rang it up and handed it back to me; then we walked for the door. We were almost out the door when the cashier called us back.

"You forgot your change!" She called with a chuckle. I chuckle as I walked back over; taking the 50 cents. "Give that to your dad sweetie." She says with a warm. I smirk to myself as I thanked her and turned around; Steve quickly hides a somewhat frightened look on his face. I handed the change to him as we walked out the door.

We were walking through the park; on our way back to the tower when I realized I was smiling like an idiot.

"What's so funny?" He asked; stupid me not noticing him glancing at me. I giggle slightly and shake my head.

"Nothin, just-…. The look on your face when she called you my dad…" I smirk to myself. He rolled his eyes with a smirk as Stark Tower appeared in the distance.

~0~

We walked out of the elevator and I could see Clint playing a game on the Xbox… which we didn't have before.

"Where'd you get that?" I ask as we walked over. He glanced up before pausing it a few seconds later.

"I asked Jarvis to order one. We don't have much to do here." He says plainly. I furrow my eyebrows with a chuckle. I glance at the screen. "What's that?" He asked; looking at my gift shop bag. I pull it out and chuck the stuffed animal at him. It hit him in the face and he blinks as it drops into his lap; giving me a hurt, but playful look. I roll my eyes with a grin as he looks it over. "Adorable." He says; tossing it back.

I look over at Steve when his phone buzzed. He pulled it out; looking at something on the screen.

"I'll be right back." He says; looking down at me. I nod and he walks for the elevator. I look back at Clint; who had started playing again.

"What game is this?" I asked. He doesn't take her eyes off the screen.

"Walking Dead." He says. I roll my eyes.

"It's official. You're addicted to that show." I tell him.

"It's not a bad thing." He says in a hurt tone. I grin as I continue to watch him play.

A few minutes later the elevator door opened back up and Steve walked out with Natasha.

"Good news Sanders." She says walking up. I look up at her. What could she be talking about?

"What?" I ask.

"We found them."

**Ending the chap there everyone! Ha-ha! You'll just have to find out who "them" is next time! ... Even though most of you might have your suspicions… :) Please review! **


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

**Thanks for reviewing fibcupcake! :) You have no idea how good it makes me feel when I have people like you who give me the constant support. It is really motivating me and giving me confidence to keep writing. And I know there are quite a few grammar mistakes. I'm trying my best to make sure I fix them all, but my computer doesn't know the difference between what's spelled right and what's not. ;P So I'll work on that! Enjoy this chap!**

It took me a few seconds to realize what Natasha just said. It was so soon, and she already found the people who were behind the death of my parents?

"Where are they?" I ask.

"Nowhere near us." She says; not sounding too pleased. "After we found you, they moved up to a base in Canada." She says. I make a face.

"Great." I mumble; glancing down at my snow leopard. "So uh, am I gonna be going or-"

"Um, maybe we should wait til were certain of what these people are capable of." Steve says anxiously. I swallow and blink a few times.

"That would probably be best." Natasha says. "Clint-"She looks over at the gaming agent. "Fury wants you on the carrier. Mission debriefs." She says. He groans; pausing his game before getting up and stretching.

"This better be like, really important. I was almost about to level up." He mumbles, as he walks for the elevator to get changed.

"So I can't go?" I state. The slowly shake their heads after a few seconds.

"There isn't much you would be able to do there anyway, Kate." Steve says. I look at the ground before nodding.

"When ya leaving?"

"Well, we actually have to get going now." Natasha says. Oh man, I thought this would be like next week or something. I nod again.

"You'll be fine staying here with Stark, Pepper, and Clint right?" He asked. I quickly nodded. We're gonna burn the tower down. I can see it now. "Clint should be back by tonight, and Bruce is needed on the carrier for a few days, but we should be back by then." He adds. I could see Natasha checking her phone out of the corner of my eye.

"We should get going; it'll be dark in a few hours." She says; walking for the elevator. He glances at her; giving a nod before turning back to me. I could feel my face drop from disappointment that I couldn't go as I looked to the floor. C'mon, these are _my _parent's killers, not yours.

"C'mon here." He says. I look up at him before getting up and walking over; he pulled me into a hug before looking back down at me; putting a hand on my shoulder. "We'll be back by Friday night, ok?" He says. I narrow my eyes. It was Monday.

"Cross your heart and hope to die?" I look at him. He gave me a strange and confused look.

"You want me to do what?" I roll my eyes.

"Just, - promise." I say with a sigh. He nods.

"Ok, I promise." He says slightly amused. I give a small smile before he walked toward the elevator with Natasha. They walked in and the door closed.

I was left standing alone in the communal area. Well… what now. I look around before deciding on making my way to the lab.

A few minutes later I walked in; seeing Tony actually in the suit and testing something with it.

"Jarvis kill the thrusters will ya?" He says; sounding a little tired out. The thrusters gave way and the boots of his suit hit the ground with a thud. I walked in; sitting down in his fancy, but comfortable spinney chair.

The suit opened up and he stumbled out of it; seeing me in the room.

"Oh, hey kid." He says in a welcoming tone. I smile, but don't respond. "So you'll be stayin with us for the week correct?"

"Yeah, I wasn't allowed to go." He smirked; sitting down in the chair opposite of me.

"Well, you'll have more fun here." He says. I smirk, leaning on my fist. "So, I've been working on something." He starts, tightening a bolt in the glove of his suit. "If you wanna take a look at it, Jarvis will show you." He says; nodding to the other side of the room.

I look over, seeing a case sitting on one of the counters. I got up and walked over, I hear the click as Jarvis unlocked the locks on it and I carefully lifted the lid up. Inside was a slightly smaller glove than Tony's. It was navy blue with a silver streak across the side and a silver star on the shoulder. My mouth was in the shape of an O as I stared at it.

"Pretty cool right? I figured sense mine had a big knock back, you could use one more your size." He says from the other side of the room.

"_This is mine!?_" I thought; to soon realizing I said it out loud.

"Yeah. Wanna try it?" I felt as if my head was gonna fall off my shoulders when I nodded. He placed his tool down on the table and walked over. He picked the glove up out of the case and held it out for me to take it. I gently took it from him and let it close around my left arm and up around my shoulder. "I think you remember how it's done?" He said with a smirk. I chuckled and nodded as we walked over to the open area; a target on the far side of the room; about 20 yards away.

I raised my arm and narrowed my eyes as I put my full focus on that target. I could feel the metal moving as I adjusted my arm a bit and gave my wrist a flick. The blast wasn't as bad as Tony's suit but my arm flew back in a half circle and I had to take a step back as I saw the beam hit the target, dead center.

"Nice!" He says; sounding a bit shocked. I grin, rubbing my shoulder. At least I didn't get knocked out this time! I turned and hugged him; catching him slightly off guard.

"It's not that big a deal kid, there's plenty more where that came from." He says with a chuckle. I grin; lifting my arm again for another go.

~0~

**A few hours later…**

"What's with the star?" I asked; looking down at my shoulder, then at him. I had been in the lab practicing my aim as Tony worked on his suit on the other side of the room.

"Well Spangles is your guardian, so I figured it'd fit." He said with a shrug. I smirked and looked down at my shoulder again.

"Hey I'm bac- whoa." We turned; seeing Clint had walked in and his eyes were glued to my own little piece of Stark Tech. "Where did you get that!?" Clint said like he was a kid in a candy store, walking up. A huge grin popped onto my face when I nodded to Tony. "What? No way, I want one!" He said in a playful voice and looked at Tony with a grin. Tony merely rolled his eyes; looking back down at his suit.

"Cool right?!" I look up at him once he gets closer. He nodded; looking at the far wall which was slightly burnt.

"Well give it a go; I wanna see it in action!" He said like he expected me to a few minutes ago. I nodded excitedly as I turned to face the wall. I positioned my feet so they'd stay put and lifted my arm. With a flick of my wrist the blast shot and just barely missed the bulls' eye. He nodded; approving of my skills. "Hey Stark, when's Pepper getting back?" Clint says; turning slightly.

"Any minute now, she's bringing back take-out." He says; not looking up from his work table. We nod.

"Hey Jarvis?" I speak out.

"Yes Ms. Sanders?" His voice sounds throughout the room.

"Can you unlock this thing from my arm?" I question; amused. It unlocked and I slid my handout; placing it in its case and it locked as soon as I closed it. We walked over to where Tony was. He was still doing something with the glove of his suit. Clint walked over behind us and was looking out the window.

"Hold that in place for a sec." Tony said to me; grabbing something behind him. I did as I was told and held the glove about a foot off the counter. "And whatever you do don-"My hand slipped and the wrist flicked up, but instead of a blast, a top plate on the hand came off and a red laser fired from it. I dropped the glove in shock with a gasp and the red beam went through the counters and a few big cabinets. It went straight through the wall and broke the windows before Tony grabbed it off the counter and pushed something to turn it off.

It was completely quiet for a few seconds before we heard someone drop something.

"What is going on here?!" Pepper yelled; we see the dropped bags in her hands. I closed my mouth and stood up straight again. We looked around the room calmly when a piece of ceiling fell in front of us. I face palmed and Clint held back a laugh.

~0~

I put a spoonful of soup into my mouth and looked back up at the TV. After we called the workmen to repair the lab and outer wall of the Tower, we all sat down for dinner- well, me Clint and Tony sat down in front of the TV while Pepper sat at one of the stools; finishing up some work stuff.

I ate another spoonful as I watched the newer episode of the Big Bang Theory; one of my favorite shows; obviously.

Today was actually really fun. Went to the zoo, got some cool Stark Tech, maybe the next 4 days wouldn't be so bad.

**Hope you enjoyed! ;) Please review if you liked! **


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

**Next chapter's here everyone! :D Hope you enjoyed the last one, please review. PinkyWinky44, I enjoyed reading your request! :) I actually have thought about making a sequel for Captain America 2 with Kate in it. Now if anyone else thinks that's a cool idea, please review and maybe I'll consider making one if I get enough support for it… but I might just do it anyway for the sake of it. :P Enjoy!**

Wednesday

It had been about a day and a half sense Steve and Natasha left, and I was having a lot of fun! I don't know why, but we haven't burned the Tower down yet; quite surprising actually. When Steve got back we would have to come up with a freakin good ass explanation for what we'd done the whole week.

This morning we had a bag of chips for breakfast, and I felt so bad afterward I ran 7 miles to run it all off; drinking at least 5 water bottles along the way.

I walked into the lab and saw Clint spinning a cup at one of the counters and Tony was working on something; who knows what. I walked over to the case on the counter and Jarvis opened it for me. I pulled my glove out and felt the metal enclose around my arm as I walked over to the target area. Aiming for the bulls eye; I gave my wrist a flick and felt the knock back as it hit dead center. I was surprisingly pretty good with this. I mean, I haven't had it very long, but it is surprisingly easy after you work out the kinks.

I shot it a few more times before lowering my arm and rolling my shoulder. It was a little sore, but not too bad.

"Show off." Clint mutters. I give him a hurt but playful look.

"You think so?" I ask in a challenging manner.

"I bet you couldn't do it flying." He says. I roll my eyes; looking back at the target.

"Why not find out?" I hear Tony from behind me. Aw, man. I was afraid he'd say that. I turned and looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

~0~

"Finished it last night." He says. I stare at the suit in front of me. Yeah, you heard me. Suit.

He built. Me a suit. It's taking a while for the shock to where off….

I continued to stare at it, forcibly closing my jaw so I didn't look like an idiot.

"Last night?" I squeaked out. He nods.

"Well, I actually started it a while ago, just took me a little longer; getting the right measurements and stuff." He says. It had the same color pattern as the glove that I was wearing now. The navy blue, silver- ok it was more of a metallic grey. It was kinda like his other suits, but it had a more so original design, more like… I don't know. It was cool though!

I swallowed and looked at it; trying not to smile like an idiot.

…

A few minutes later we put the boots on my feet so I could get the hand of the flying thing. It was hard to pick up my feet, I'll give it that. I had both gloves on my hands too, the right arm glove was identical, but there was only a star on the left one.

"Ok, ready?" Tony asked; Clint anxiously standing behind him. I nod. "Jarvis, power at 1%." I raise an eyebrow. "Trust me; you don't want it at 10." He says. I nod again. "Ok, 3, 2, 1." Suddenly I felt them roar to life and I was in the air.

"Holy shit!-"I blurt out. I tensed at first, adjusting my arms to keep me still and not go flying across the room. A few seconds later I heard him say kill power and I was on the ground again. My eyes were wide with excitement as I stumbled slightly.

"That was freakin awesome!" I yelled. Clint grinned while Tony smirked.

"Want another go?" He asked. I immediately nodded.

"Ok, Jarvis, power thrusters at 2.5%" He says. "Just make sure you remember to steer." He says. My smile dropped and before I could respond I was in the air again. But this time I had to control where I was going. I put my hands a little too far forward and next thing I knew I was crashing into the wall behind me and it went black.

~0~

"C'mon kid, wake up." I opened my eyes, seeing Clint and Tony. I blinked a few times making a face.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You crashed into the wall." Clint says with no emotion in his voice. I groan as I push myself up a little. They stood up and I held out a hand for some help. They looked at each other.

"Well come on, help me up!" I say in a slightly whiney voice.

"Try getting yourself up." Tony says. Next thing I knew he activated the thrusters and I was flying back. I subconsciously put my hands pointing down behind me and I went up right. I aligned my hands with my body and felt myself relax as I got control over my own feet. I look up with a shocked laugh and then back down at my feet. I moved my hands to the left; making me go right before lining my feet up again. I pointed them to the right, making me go left. I lined my feet together and kept my hands still. Tony cut the thrusters and I hit the ground with a thud. I laugh; getting my balance before walk/running over to them. The boots are still kind heavy.

"I- I did it!" I say excitedly. Clint smirks.

"Yeah, but you haven't won the bet yet." He says. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Why not give it a go?" Tony says with a shrug. "With the whole suit on that is." I smile excitedly before following him over to where the rest of the suit was.

~0~

The face plate closed and I opened my eyes. Several icons popped on the right side of the screen and a small map was in the bottom left corner.

"Now this is a prototype so I haven't installed any additional weapons." I look to my left seeing Tony. Several bits of info came up about him.

"Sure you wanna do that?" I look over seeing Clint smirk. Several bits of info came up about him to, most of it said classified though…

"Ok, so how do I work this?" I asked.

"Jarvis will walk you though." He says plainly. I nod slowly.

"Ok, Jarvis? Give me the short version."

"As you wish, miss sanders. Overall, you should know how to operate the flying and shooting, so unless you want to take this for a test flight I-"

"Ooo, that sounds like a great idea." I mutter sarcastically.

"Want to?" Tony asked. I look over at him.

"Yeah, very funny." I say.

"No, seriously, you know all the controls. Sometimes you gotta run, before you can walk." He says; crossing his arms. I hesitate.

"If you can get that on the first try, I'll have to like- give you some extra bow techniques or something." Clint says. Ok, this just got serious. We didn't really do much archery stuff, because I was usually doing other stuff and he had missions. So it's a big deal…

~0~

I looked way down at the city road in front of the tower. We were on the top of the Tower right now. It was dark now.

"Nope. Can't do it." I make clear.

"Chicken." Clint mutters. I glare at him, not that he could see it under the face plate though.

"If you don't wanna kid, its fine. We'll try again some other time." Tony says. I think for a moment. Ok, so this might be the last night I have before Steve gets back. And I know for a fact he's not gonna like this.

I look over the edge again. I'm gonna regret this.

"Jarvis can control her flight right?" Clint asked. I hear Tony mumble something. One second I was looking down and then I felt a shove from behind and I let out a gasp as I was plummeting toward the city streets.

"Shit!" I yelled. The world was spinning all around me. I closed my eyes for a moment, remembering what to do. I subconsciously engaged the thrusters and I was shooting forward. I directed myself up; just missing a car and skyrocketed toward the night sky.

"Whoa!" I gasp as I just miss a building. I fly a little higher.

"Jarvis?" I call.

"Yes Miss Sanders?"

"Uh, drop thruster levels to 20%." I asked. He did as I requested and I was able to keep it in control. I just hovered for a few seconds; looking down at the city. This. Was. Awesome! "Ok, full acceleration." I tell him. I shot forward and it felt so freakin badass that I wanted to just stay out here all night.

"Nice work kid, bring it back up." I hear Tony. I don't reply but do as he says. I flew the suit back up to the top of the Tower and Jarvis slowly dropped the power levels; allowing me to land safely on the roof. Tony looked impressed. The face plate came up and I had the biggest god damn grin on my face.

"That was so cool!" I yell.

"That was surprisingly good for your first go 'round." He says. Clint rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, she was amazing. When's dinner?" He says playfully. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh! - Yeah. Pep should be back any minute." I nod walked toward the door. "Hey." I turned to Tony with an eyebrow raised. "Wanna take the other way in?" He gestures to the front of the tower. My eyes went wide with excitement as the face plate went down as I took off; flying down the side of the tower; losing control for only a second before regaining myself. I leveled out; landing on the platform and walked down the stairs. The small but cool looking machines started take the armor off my body. Suddenly the elevator dinged and my head shot up.

"Jarvis, speed it up!" I yelled. I started to speed walk and eventually all the armor was off. I jumped over the railing and landed on the couch with a thud. The door opened and Pepper walked out; seeing me on the couch.

"Hey Kate- What is all over you face?" She asked. My smile dropped. I wiped the back of my hand across my forehead and saw grease. Oops. I give her a smile, hoping she wouldn't think _too _much of it.

**Hope you enjoyed it! I thought if Kate had a little something from everyone she'd be able to have more connections with them and stuff. :) Oh! And one other thing, I changed Kate's age. So she's now 15 years old, turning 16 in like a week for the upcoming chapters. Before she was 16 going on 17-… now I got that song stuck in my head. :P Anyway, I was going to change it in the first chapter but I can't sense it's been well more than 90 days. Yeah, just wanted to let you know! :P Please review if you liked it! **


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

**Thanks for reviewing everyone! And also to those how support the Cap2 sequel, thank you for letting me know! :D I guess we'll just have to see how things will turn out… Haha!**

It was finally Friday. Steve would be coming back with Natasha today and I don't really know what I except to hear from them. I wanted to find these people. But I don't know what I would do about it. Whatever happens, I don't want Revenge. That's the last thing I'd want, but I don't know what I want to do about them. I guess throw em in jail? Make sure they don't ever hurt anyone again?

I was taken out of my thoughts when Clint tossed me a bag of chips. It caught it and opened them up; eating a small handful before going back to cleaning off my helmet. This morning when flying, I kinda hit something. Now the faceplate was covered in dust and other debris. I stuck another chip in my mouth as I picked up the rag again and put a little work into it. I rubbed the last bit of the dust off; seeing the shine. I grinned; placing it on the table before hopping off the couch and walking over to the counter.

I sat down next to Pepper who had stayed home from work today. She turned; giving me a smile.

"Wanna hit the range?" Clint asked; walking up. I look over at him before looking at Pepper. She gave me a smile; sipping her coffee. I look back at Clint and nod.

~0~

"Pull the string back up to your cheek." He said. I pulled the string back a hair more and released it. It hit two rings out from the center. Ugh. I was so much better at this when I was younger. I lowered my arm and set the bow down on the stand. We walked over to the targets to collect all the arrows. "So, you excited they're coming home?" Clint asked; breaking the silence. I nod.

"Yeah, although we didn't achieve our goal of burning the tower down." I tell him. Clint laughed.

"Well I'll note that for next time they leave." He said; amused. I grin; picking up my last arrow before we walked back. "So what're you gonna do about the whole SHIELD agent thing?" I hesitate before shrugging.

"I haven't really thought too much about it. I don't know if Steve is comfortable with it."

"I didn't ask what your dad-… I-I mean, Steve. I asked you." He stutters. I raised an eyebrow and glanced at him. He just looks around and puts his hands behind his back.

"I don't know. Once we find these people, I wanna get more involved…" We walked back and I put the arrows in the quiver on my back.

"I'll talk to Coulson about getting you in for testing." He offered. I raised another eyebrow.

"Testing?"

"Yeah, just physical tests and that sort of thing. It shouldn't be too hard. If it all goes well then who knows, maybe you'll be the next SHIELD agent." He says; leaning against the wall. "And with your ability, it will jumble the test results a bit so there's a high chance." I furrow my eyebrows. "Meaning, that with your ability you would be valued. Many agents would want you to accompany them for certain projects. It would make undercover missions easier; as an example." He explained. I nodded.

The door opened and Pepper walked in.

"Kate, there uh… there back." She called over. I looked up from the arrow I had been holding and quickly put it in my quiver. I took it off my back and placed it on the stand before walking toward the elevator. Clint followed me. "Just- one minute…." Pepper held up her hands to stop us. I made an abrupt stop and furrowed my eyebrows. Pepper bit the inside of her cheek; looking at me. "There uh, was a slight problem on the mission-" I immediately went to push past her when she put both hands on my shoulders; stopping me. "There fine-, but, not in… mint-condition." She swallows. I clench my jaw before ducking under her arms and running for the elevator.

They better be fine. If they got themselves almost killed because of me and my obsessiveness over these people I'll never forgive myself.

I eventually heard the ding of the door and it opened; I walked into Bruce's little lab area and saw both Natasha and Steve over on the other side of the room. I walked over slowly; not sure of what I might see. Natasha turned; her arm in a sling and a gash on her forehead. She gave me a smile. I felt my jaw clench and my I gave a pitied look. This was my doing. I glanced around her; seeing Steve was sitting on a stool by the counter and Bruce was on the other side of the counter. He looked up from what Bruce was doing and his expression brightened. He was about to get up when Natasha turned and pushed him back down on the stool.

II walked over and saw Bruce pulling something out of his arm. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and turned away, getting a hold of my lunch before forcing myself to look back over.

"Hey." He says; sounding more chirper than ever. I tried to force a smile… tried.

"Hi." I say through clenched teeth; biting my lip. I looked back down at his arm; there were several big gashes in it and Bruce was using tweezers to get something out of the cuts.

"Um…. What happened?" I asked quietly.

"Turns out these people were gone. The place was abandoned…. Almost." Natasha says.

"They packed the building with C-4." Steve added.

"Is that how you got…" I trail off looking at both of their injuries.

"Yeah, it's nothing compared to other stuff." Natasha shrugged it off like it was nothing. I look up at her; about to object.

"Nothing!? You could have died because I wanted to know about these people." I state. "Because of me, you both could have died." I state, more to myself.

"Kate, were fine." Steve says quietly from my left. I turned to him and almost laughed.

"Fine!? You're fine!? Look at your arm!" I shouted. "That's anything but fine!" I could feel my heart racing and I could suddenly smell the blood. I hadn't really noticed it before but now I was overwhelming me. I squeezed my eyes shut before I turned; running into Clint who had showed up before running for the elevator before I passed out.

**Ok, time to explain. My computer is on its last life. So I'm getting a new one. It might be awhile before I can update again, like a couple weeks at the most, so I wanted to give you what I had so far for a chapter. I know it's not much but my computer is literally about to die in a few minutes, so pleasing review! I hope I can update very very soon! Love you guys! (And girls) ;D**


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

**Hey everyone! I know this was sooner than any of you probably thought, but I have my new computer now! Yea! :D **

**Fbicupcake: I will do everything I can to make sure I involve some of your ideas! Some of them I actually had similar things for, so thank you for sticking with me! :D So without further ado, I'll give you your chapter!**

_I opened my eyes; seeing Stella sitting across from me. Wait- Stella? She's de-…. _

_I winced as I pushed myself up straighter. I looked down at the wound on my leg; it was getting infected. _

_Now I remember… they hurt me again. The only reason I'm alive is for their amusement. As long I don't fight them, my family will live. _

_The door opens and I struggle to lift my head. Two men came in this time and one headed for me while the other walked toward Stella. He forcibly pulled me up by my arm and shoved me into the hall. I coughed and stumbled before catching myself._

_We later walked into a dark room. Oh no. This is the room where Stella- _

_I suddenly felt a stinging sensation on my back. I stumbled forward and saw the man holding a whip, out of the corner of my eye. I heard another crack of the whip and my legs gave out. I looked to my left; seeing them doing the same thing to Stella. _

_My vision got blurry and I saw them whip her over and over again before they whipped me once more. I suddenly felt a burning feeling sprint up my body. My eyes flashed and I clenched my fists. _

_Oh no. Not again…._

"_You shift and the girl dies!" I heard a man growl at me; pointing a gun at her head. I bit my tongue and squeezed my eyes shut._

_I can't let them do this again. I won't. _

_I opened my eyes and looked over at Stella. She only glanced at me but I saw the fear in her eyes. She was counting on me. I had to save her this time._

_I suddenly felt another slash and I couldn't hold my head up as I let it fall on the floor. My whole body was aching. I don't know how much longer I can hang on. _

_I felt the whip slice my skin again and something snapped. That was it. It felt like someone dumbed me in a bucket of acid, the pain was unbearable. I looked down at the pool of blood forming under me as I felt my body begin to change. _

_Before I could realize what was happening I was roaring with rage and there was a scream and a gunshot before it went black. _

…

Everything went black and the shaking feeling became stronger. I could still feel the whip lashing at my back.

Within seconds my eyes flew open and I was sitting up in an instant. I couldn't stop shaking and my lungs now felt like they were being crushed, as if someone had a hand inside my chest and was slowly constricting my lungs.

My eyes darted around before they lay on a person to my right. I immediately started to move back, away from the figure before I was knocking over everything on my nightstand and hitting the floor on the opposite side of my bed. Pushing myself to my feet I ran for the door and down the hall.

It was dark and everything was washed over in the color red. I couldn't see straight. It was like everything was a stretching and shrinking, nonstop movement.

I still couldn't breathe as I frantically looked for a way out before I suddenly felt someone begin to turn me.

I couldn't hear if I screamed or not; my ears were ringing.

Hell, I don't even know if I'm dreaming still.

Then a voice came into view as I started to feel air coming back into my lungs. But I still couldn't stop shaking as I continued to look left and right for the men who had hurt me.

Now there was someone kneeling in front of me and they were calmly taking to me. I still couldn't hear enough to understand.

The red wash in my vision finally faded and I got my breath back. My eyes trailed down to the person and the blur slowly went away before I realized who it was.

Ok, just Steve. I'm fine... It was just a dream.

His voice slowly got louder til my hearing was completely back.

"Hey..." He said quietly. I felt like I was going to snap. My eyes flashed and I tried my best to hold onto my emotions. Now my eyes were rimmed with tears and I was struggling to blink them away. "You're ok."

I couldn't tell if I had started crying or not. I honestly don't feel like I'm even here right now. It's like I hear and see all of this, but I'm not in control of any of it.

"I couldn't save her." I heard myself say. "I… I couldn't save her." Before I could process that I had started crying I was burying my face into his shoulder and completely bawling.

There was only one thought in my head.

Stella.

They killed her... And it was my fault. I wasn't strong enough to save her.

I know that my tears are completely soaking the shoulder part of his shirt, but he didn't seem to mind too much. We were still standing in the hallway I think.

After a few minutes I slowly felt my sobs slow and fade. I was still clinging to his neck; my face buried into his shoulder when he carried me back into my room, and put me back in my bed before sitting down in the chair opposite of the bed.

My back was still burning, even though the actual scars were almost gone.

Despite the amount of pain I physically suffered… it came nowhere close to how I was scared emotionally.

~0~

I opened my eyes to the beams of sunlight coming into my room. I moved over a bit; my eyes landing on my nightstand. Everything was knocked over. I furrowed my eyebrows; sitting up and seeing Steve was sitting in the arm chair looking at me.

What the hell?

I furrowed my eyebrows before adjusting myself.

"You don't remember do you?" He asked. I shake my head. Remember what? What is he talking about? "You had a nightmare last night, about the warehouse." He explains. My eyes trailed down to the bed covers.

"How bad?" I asked quietly.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, you scared me pretty good. You seemed really confused about where you were. When you first woke up you kept asking where Stella was." He says. I nod. Stella.

Suddenly it all came back to me. Everything. The flashback, waking up, running into the hall and the red wash over my eyesight, and him carrying me back to my bed before sitting down in the chair.

"Sorry about that, I just-"

"You don't need to be sorry about it Kate. None of it was your fault, ok?" He tells me. I hesitate before nodding. He just looked at me with his slightly concerned look before glancing at the door. "I'll be in my room if you need me." He got up and walked for the door. I nod and after he closed the door I felt a hell of a lot of emotions wash over me.

If only you knew how much of this was my fault.

I guess this must be kinda confusing. So it's been about a week sense Steve and Natasha got back. For some reason I've been having a lot of nightmares. I haven't gotten more than 8 hours of sleep all week. I haven't had one this bad before, not to cause Steve to have to stay with me through the night.

They don't know. I've been able to keep most of the nightmares I've had a secret. I can be up to 4 a night sometimes, but I've never had one like this.

Some days I couldn't even close my eyes without zoning out and coming out of a thought shaking with a cold sweat.

But the one with Stella is new. I've tried so hard to put that thought away and out of sight. But so far I haven't been able to. It's my fault she's dead. If I had more self-control I could have saved her life. She would be home with her family right now.

I wiped the tears from my eyes before getting out of bed and setting everything back up on my nightstand. I grabbed some clothes from the closet before making my way to the communal floor.

~0~

I walked onto the communal floor and saw Clint, Steve, Natasha, and Bruce. Clint gave me a quick glance before looking back to his SHIELD laptop and Natasha gave me a smile; looking up from her book.

"Want some tea or coffee Kate?" Bruce called. I looked over.

"Um, I think I'll settle with grape juice." I say quietly. By the time I got over to where he was he already had a glass ready. "Thanks." I took it from him and lifted it to my lips. But before it touched my mouth I looked down into the cup; images flashed through my mind once my brain mistook the color of the juice for blood.

Within seconds I dropped the glass and squeezed my eyes shut; grasping the counter for balance. Before I could even process what was happening there were several people crowding around me before I just let myself side down til I was hugging my knees and hiding my face; sitting on the floor against the counter. My heart beat was in my ears and I was breathing rapidly like I was running a marathon.

The sound became muffled and I didn't want to look up. I couldn't think straight. Feelings of fear were suddenly washing over me and I couldn't control them. It felt like someone had a cement cinderblock on my chest.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and muffled voices. I don't know if there trying to talk to me but I don't want to think about it.

A few seconds later I gained enough energy to the point where I could hear them talking to me. I lifted my head only for a few seconds.

"I need a minute." I managed to breathe. I pushed myself up and ran for the stairs.

~0~

"Do you know where she is now?" Pepper asked. After Kate had the episode they called Pepper and she had them turn the plane around the get back to the tower. Literally.

"'No, were gonna go look now." Clint says.

"I'll do the park." Steve says.

"I try a few of the shops; maybe she went to see Sam at work." Clint offers they all nod.

"I'll drive around and see what I find. Bruce you wanna help me?" Pepper asked. He nodded.

"Natasha?" Clint turned to her.

"I'm uh, just gonna search a few places." She says. They all nodded before walking for the door.

~0~

The door opened and I felt a part of me calm down once I saw Sam's face. She had a day off from work today. She dropped her smile; seeing my state.

"Are you ok?" She asked in a calm but concerned tone. I hesitate before shaking my head. She led me in the room and we sat down on her bed in her room. I didn't see her parents.

"Sam, I don't know what's wrong with me. I keep having these nightmares and I can't have a glass of juice without having a dramatic episode!" I tell her.

"Is this about the…" I nod; knowing she didn't want to set me off with the name.

"Ever sense Steve and Natasha came back I haven't gotten more than like 7 hours of sleep."

"Wasn't that last week?" I nodded again. "Have you talked with them about it?" I shook my head this time.

"The first few nightmares I had, Jarvis said I should tell them but I told him not to. Then there was one that Natasha heard. But I told her it was just a weird dream; nothing to worry about. And last night…." I swallow; trailing off.

"Was really bad?" I nod.

"It was the worst. It took several minutes for me to calm down. Not to mention I woke up the whole Tower and Steve had to keep an eye on me the whole night." I stared at the floor for a few seconds. "And just a few minutes ago I had the episode with a stupid glass of grape juice." I mumble the last part.

"What do you think started it?" I shrug.

"I don't know Sam. I haven't been able to stop thinking about those people sense Steve and Natasha got back-"

"Do you always call him that?" She asked suddenly. I raise an eyebrow.

"Why do I call Steve by his name?" I ask in a slightly confused tone.

"Yeah-" She hugged her knees and rocked herself back and forth. "-He's kinda your dad so…" She trails off. I closed my eyes for a moment; shaking my head.

"Um, I don't know. It just seems weird...?" I tell her in a questioning tone.

"You should give it a try sometime. Who knows, maybe it will help you with moving on." She says plainly. Good point, but still…

"Sam, Kate?" Sam's mom opened the door. "Kate, someone's hear for you." I swallow before getting up and following her out with Sam behind me. We made our way to the door and I saw Natasha standing with her hands behind her back with a calm face. At least she's not giving me the intimidating look.

I gave Sam and her mom a small smile before following Natasha out.

"Good seeing you again, Mrs. Powell." Natasha says as we walked out.

"You too Ms. Rushmen." She says sweetly as I closed the door behind us.

A few minutes later as we walked for the exit of the building Natasha stopped me.

"Wanna tell me what's been going on?"

"Just some bad dreams." I tell her. She gives a small smirk.

"You don't have to lie to me, Kate. Just tell me the truth." She says; sitting down on a bench in the main lobby; patting the seat next to her. I sat down and put my hands in my lap.

"I…" I trail off. "Ever sense you guys came back I've started thinking more and more about this people. And now I'm getting flashbacks, and I've been getting scared by simple things." I explain.

"Like with the grape juice." I nod.

"Yeah. But I don't know what's causing it. I've never had episodes like these before."

"What have your flashbacks been about?" She asked. I think for a moment.

"Right before I shift. When there; they would do everything to get me to shift. But they'd always put someone's life at stake, so if I lost control…" I trail off when she nods.

"Well… why don't we head back to the tower for now? Wanna do a little sparring with Clint?" I nod after a few seconds. "I'm gonna pay a visit to SHIELD for a few hours." I nodded and got up; following her to the door.

**I'm gonna stop it there everyone! Please, please review! :D I love hearing what you think about the chapters and I will do my best to incorporate your requests with what I have planned! :D love you guys! (And girls!) **

**More questions for you all!  
Favorite Songs: Please give the artist and song title! :) **

**Your favorite animal: Can be anything! :) **


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

**Hey everyone! So I've looked at some of your songs and favorite animals and I'm gonna do my best to add what I can! :) Hope you enjoy!**

I walked out of the elevator and onto the communal floor. Natasha dropped me off a couple minutes ago; said she was stopping by the Carrier.

I guess she called them before we got back, cause now there are several people looking up at me with relieved faces. Bruce, Clint, and Steve were in the room. Bruce was at the counter along with Steve and Clint. Who knows where Tony was. I hide my smirk.

"Hey, so Natasha said you wanted to hit the gym?" Clint clears his throat. I didn't speak up; only nodded. He nods and after a few seconds looks past me at the elevator. "I'll just, go get changed real quick." He says. I nod and he walks past me for the door. I look back up at Steve; he sticks his hands in his pockets looking down at me.

"You ok?" I nod again.

"Hey uh Kate, you want a water bottle this time?" Bruce calls over humorously. I smile and nod. He tosses me one from the counter. I caught it; taking a small sip before putting it in my other hand. "Wanna talk about it at all or…"

"Um, maybe later ok?" I bite my lip in a nervous tone. I don't wanna have another episode explaining this. He nods.

"Ok." He replies.

"_Miss Sanders, Agent Barton has made it clear that he is waiting for you in the gym." _Jarvis says. I roll my eyes.

"Thanks Jar." I put a hand through my hair before giving Steve a nod and walking into the elevator.

~0~

**A few hours later…**

After I did a little sparring with Clint I retreated to my room; turning on the TV I looked for a movie. I flipped through several channels when memories started coming into my head.

…

"_Mom, when is he coming back?" A 13 year old Kate asked. Her mother looked down at her with a warm smile._

"_Soon honey. He'll be home before you know it." She put a hand throw her daughter's hair. _

"_Don't forget kiddo, today's the 5__th__." Her father walked into the room; the house home in hand. Her eyes gleamed with excitement and she took the phone from him. On the fifth of every month her brother; James, would call from overseas. _

"_Hello?" She spoke up. _

"_Hey little K." There was a lot of static but she didn't care. She was happy to hear his voice again. _

"_Hi!" She squeaked excitedly. Her father sat down in the arm chair in the living room; her mother walked over, sitting in his lap and smiling at her daughter. _

"_How's city life over there?" He says humorously. She giggled._

"_It's ok." They were in Washington DC for a while, something about her parents work. She wasn't allowed to know. They were working in this big building, it looked really cool. It was tan and had a lot of windows. "Hey, now I know I'm gonna be missing your birthday, so I'm gonna make it up to you somehow ok?"_

"_Ok, like what?" She asked. "Ooo! Can I come to your base?" She asked with excitement. _

"_I don't see why not little K." He laughs. _

"_You promise?" She asked. There was silence for a few seconds._

"_I promise, little K. Love you!" She laughed._

"_Love you too, here's mom." She took the phone away from her ear; handing it to her mother._

…

I blinked a few times; going through the channels faster. I felt my eyes only water slightly so I could blink them away.

…

_Kate peaked out from the corner of the wall; into the living room. It had been a few months sense James could call. The last time she talked to him was when she was thirteen and he promised he'd take her to his base for her birthday. _

"_Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Sanders." A man greets when her parents answered the door. "We need to talk about your son." Her parents looked at each other before letting them inside. They sat down on the couches and Kate bit her lip as she looked at them. There were two men; both in uniform and one she recognized as her brother's best friend; Caleb. "I'm sorry… but, Corporal James Sanders was killed in action overseas yesterday." He says. _

_Kate couldn't breathe, couldn't think. He couldn't be dead. She couldn't hear them as she felt her eyes close; letting tears drop onto the floor. _

_Seconds later she was bursting out the backdoor and running into the pouring rain. Tears streamed down her face as she ran through several bushes and trees before running onto the sidewalk. She ran into the road and didn't see the van coming. She only had time to turn; facing the white van as it slammed on the brakes and coming to a halt in front of her. _

_A man got out of the car and so did the driver. They walked toward her._

"_Well looky here Allen." The man turned to the other. "Think she'll be worth something?" In that instant she knew she was in trouble. She turned to run but they grabbed her. Kicking and screaming she tried to get out of their grasps as they opened up the back of the truck and through her inside. Pushing herself up; she sees the doors close. Kate felt her eyes flash and she clenched her fists as a growl was heard from her mouth. They men looked back through the caged in area and there was a loud banging sound before it went black. _

…

My eyes flew open as I the bang came into hearing as knocking.

"Kate?" I looked up from the TV; seeing it was off. I must have dosed off. Getting off my bed I went over and opened the door; seeing Natasha. She gave me a smile and I tried my best to fake one. "I picked up a few things from SHIELD." I opened my door further so she could walk in. We sat down on my bed and she put one of the files in my hands. I opened it and froze. In front of me was a picture of my brother's best friend. Caleb Mack.

"Um, what is this?" I bit my lip.

"He's going to be a SHIELD agent." Natasha says. I couldn't breathe. Caleb? An agent of SHIELD?

"When was this?" I asked.

"When you first came to the tower he was in his second year of training for the Military and SHIELD approached him. He's not officially an agent yet, but he's going through the process while working for the Military here and there." She says. I nod; staring down at the file. Caleb was like a brother to me. My brother became friends with him overseas and after their first tour and they both came back, he took the spare room in our house for a while. We became really close. Once he and my brother left again I didn't have any clue that my brother wasn't coming back. He was the same age as my brother, so right now he should be 20; five years older than me.

"I wanna see him." I decide.

"Good… cause he's down stairs." I looked up at her; eyes wide.

"What!?" I asked; astonished.

"Yeah, I was going on the impression that you'd want to so…" She trails off with a shrug. I swallow and nod. I look toward my door and without warning an alarm began to blare. Natasha looked around before groaning. "Avenger emergency. Sorry, you'll have to do this along Sanders." She says; getting up and heading for the stairwell.

"Great." I mumble.

~0~

I hesitated before pushing the door open into the communal floor. I was nervous. How would he react? This was nerve-racking. If Natasha thinks that this will get my mind off the nightmares though, then I guess I'll just have to go with it.

I pushed open the door and walked in. Caleb turned and saw me. He was wearing his uniform still.

"Kate!" He exclaimed with relief. We met in the middle of the room and he put his arms around me in a hug. I hugged him back before pulling out.

"Hey Caleb." I smile. He looked a bit confused.

"Agent Romanoff told me what happened. Are you ok?" I feel a wave of relief wash over me. At least she explained it all.

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine." I chuckle slightly. He nods and smiles.

"What was that siren earlier?"

"Oh- um. Just a little SHIELD matter." He looks around before nodding; putting a hand through his light brown hair. "Wanna sit down?" I ask; slightly confused as to what to do or talk about. He looks over and then back at me; nodding.

We walked over and sat down on the couch. I looked out the window before Caleb spoke up again.

"Um, Kate?" I turned to him.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about your parents. I know how hard that must have been." I nod.

"It's fine. I've gotten past it." I gave him a reassuring smile before his eyes trailed over the room.

"What are you doing here exactly? Living in Avenger Tower" He chuckled slightly. My face went blank. Thanks Natasha. You told him my kidnapping story, but not the part where Captain America adopts me… smooth.

"Oh uh-" The elevator door opens suddenly and we both look up. Clint comes in followed by Tony, Steve, Clint, and Natasha.

"Hey Kate and-… soldier." Clint says; slightly confused. Caleb exchanged a glance with me as we both stood up. Everyone was in there suits and covered in cuts and bruises. That's one way to tell him.

"Guys, this is Sergeant Caleb Mack." Natasha says. Caleb gave them all a nod before looking around at everyone; then back at me. His face was priceless. I grinned as I walked past him and up to the counter.

"Welcome to our family of weirdoes." Tony calls over; taking the cap off his beer. Caleb raised an eyebrow but nodded and followed me over to the counter.

"So you live here?" He whispered to me. I grin and nod.

"Yeah, with my guardian." I tell him; spinning my straw in the soda Natasha just handed me.

"Who's you-"

"Steve." I call across the room. He turns and looks at me.

"What?" I gesture for him to come over. He walks over and Caleb stands straighter. I smirk as he walks over. "Yes?" He asked with a smirk.

"This is Caleb." I point at him. Caleb gives a nod. I could tell he was clueless of what to say. Steve held out a hand and he shook it.

"Sir, it's an honor." I cough a laugh as I sipped my soda.

"Kate!" Clint called in a groaning voice.

"What?" I mockingly groaned back.

"Toss me my beer." He says from the couch; his head slightly upside down sense he was leaning back over the couch.

"Really?-" I picked it up with a grin.

"No." Steve took the bottle out of my hand and set it on his right; allowing Natasha to hand it to him. I made a pouty face before taking another sip of my soda.

"Steve, help me with this." Tony held out the pickle jar. He sighed before walking over. I looked back at Caleb with a smirk. This was a good first impression. He smiled back before Pepper walked in.

"I got the Shwarma." She says with a tired sigh; holding two paper bags. I grin; going over to help.

~0~

**The next morning…**

Caleb stayed for dinner last night. It was fun. Everyone was mostly behaving and Caleb was glad he got to see me again. And guess what? I didn't have one nightmare last night! I'm so relieved. I guess Natasha was right.

I tightened the knots of my shoe laces before standing up straighter.

"Ready?" Steve asked. I nodded with a smile as we walked out of the building.

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter everyone! Please review and just another heads up that my connection is bad where I live so I don't get some of your reviews for a few days. :) Stay tuned for chapter 33! **


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

**Hey everyone! Thank you so much for all your reviews! Now, I did just have the flu so I've been trying to write as much as I can and put as many of your requests together as possible to make as many of you happy as I can, so please bear with me! :D **

**Fbicupcake: I am so sorry for the loss of your brother and his friend. I hope this story hasn't brought back to many memories and please don't take it the wrong way that I just happened to use the names James and Caleb. This chapter is for you! :) **

**Also, for those of you who are curious, my favorite songs include: It's Time by Imagine Dragons. Keep Holding On by Avril Lavigne. So What by P!nk. Here's to Never Growing Up by Avril Lavigne. Demons by Imagine Dragons. This Is War soundtrack by Thirty Seconds to Mars. Human by Christina Perri. A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. (I couldn't decide so I gave you them all) XD**

**And my favorite animal would have to be a horse. :) I'm also a huge nerd about dinosaurs. Have been sense I was 8 years old. I'm 15 for any of you that are curious. ;) **

**OK! I'll go ahead and shut up now. I'm sure your all falling asleep with my rambling. Enjoy!**

**2 WEEKS LATER…**

My nightmares are gone. Yep. Ever since I started forgetting about those people; thinking about other stuff, I've been able to rest easy. Caleb was called back out overseas last week and I've finally been able to move past some of the memories I had.

And guess what… Clint got me in for SHIELD testing! Yay! I had to go back to the Helicarrier for it. Only problem there is that I have to get up at the butt-crack of dawn…

…

_Beep beep beep beep_

I groaned and pushed my head under my pillow.

_Beep beep beep beep_

I huffed and outstretched my hand; feeling for the button. I clicked a few of them.

_Beep beep beep beep_

"Shut up!" I groaned; slamming my hand down on top of it before it was quiet. "Just 5 more minutes." I mumbled.

~0~

**2 HOURS LATER…**

"Kate! Let's go!" I heard Steve's voice and then my door opening.

"Ugh…" I groaned and rolled over. "Do I have to?" I mumbled; my face burred into my pillow.

"Yes, now hurry up before we're late." I hear footsteps and I bring my head out from under my pillow in time to see Steve push the curtains back and letting the sunlight in. "Get dressed and get down stairs."

"No!" I yell and burry my face into the sheets. "It burns!" I yell into my pillow. I hear him mumble something before hearing footsteps headed toward the door.

"That means now, Kate." I hear him say before closing the door behind him. I groan again before pulling my head out from under my covers. My hair was going in several different directions and there was probably some dried drool on my face too.

Pushing my covers off me I slowly got out of bed and walked to my closet; grabbing some jeans and a flannel shirt before going to get dressed.

~0~

A few minutes later I walked out of the elevator and into the kitchen. I grabbed a bagel from the counter; taking a bite and getting a plate out. I tossed the plate onto the counter and put my bagel down.

"Excited?" I jump as I hear a voice to my left.

"Jesus Christ, you scared me." I muttered; bagel still in my mouth. I look at Natasha who was on the couch with a book. "And I would say more nervous than excited right now." I nervously chuckle.

"You'll do fine. Just speak your mind." Clint says as he walks out of the elevator. I looked over at him before nodding.

"Remind me of the tests again?" I asked; taking another bite.

"A physical training test, some medial stuff, a lie test, and a background check. No biggy." He smirks. I nod again; staring at the counter for only a few moments before the elevator opened again and Steve walked out.

"Ready?" He asked; looking over at me. I nodded; taking one more bite of bagel before following him to the elevator.

~0~

I followed Steve, Natasha, and Clint off the quinjet and in one of the doors of the Helicarrier. They hadn't taken off yet so I wasn't freaking out-… yet.

We walked down several look-a-like hallways before we walked into a room. It was somewhat darker and Coulson was in front of several screens with vital stuff and several other dozen sciency things I don't know about.

"Kate." Coulson gave a nod. I guess this is the lie test. I gave a nod in reply and so did everyone else. "If you'll take a seat in the chair we can get this over with." He smirks. I smile and nod; walking around the monitors and sitting down. Natasha and Clint gave me a nod before walking out of the room. Steve followed them with his eyes before looking at me.

"I'll be right outside." He says. I swallow and nod my head as he leaves and closes the door behind him.

**Ok everyone! I am so so so so so sorry for taking so long to update, again! I'm having some trouble with catching up with school work at the moment and I just got over the flu so times are a bit rough for me right now. But I couldn't keep you all from a short chapter (at the least!) Please review if you liked it! OH! And also, please check out my other Avenger story: Rebel Reboot! I know that a couple of you have but please take a look at it! I know it might not be as good as this one, but if you want to, the sequel to that is: The Dark Rider. And the sequel to that is: Fearless. **

**Please take a look! :D I'm having some writers block for Fearless, so please please PLEASE give me ideas if you have any! XD Love you guys and girls! **


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

**I am so so so so so so so sorry guys! School has been extremely hard on my lately! I've been trying so hard to get you guys a chapter, I really am! Please enjoy! :)**

I turned my gaze back on Coulson as he pressed a few buttons and looked at the computer screens.

"Soooo, what exactly is this thing gonna do?" He looked up at me.

"I'm just gonna ask a few questions and this machine will tell me whether you're lying or not." Coulson says. I nod; looking at the chair I was sitting in. He then walked over and attached this thing to my finger and several other things that I had no clue what they were.

I hope I pass this. If I can get into SHIELD and become an agent, then I can find who killed my parents.

"Ok, just speak truthfully and we can get this over with." He smiles. I smirk and nod.

"Ok, can I have your full name?"

"Katelyn Maria Sanders" I spoke up; swallowing. This just got really intimidating.

"Eye color?"

"Blue"

"Please list your mediate family." I felt my confident face drop.

"Just me" I say quietly. Coulson looked up at me with a pitied look but then raised an eyebrow. Oh! - "And uh-, Steve Rogers… I- guess" I bit my lip. Does adoption count?

"Do you have any specific skill set?"

"I uh, can shift into animals… any animal" I tell him. He nods as he looked at the monitor.

"Have you ever had contact with SHIELD, prior to being kidnapped?" I felt my jaw tense.

"My brother was approached for recruitment. He declined." I say. Coulson looked from me to the monitor a few times.

"Does this topic put you on edge?" I give him a look.

"Yeah. Yeah it does." I saw through almost clenched teeth.

"Sorry Kate, it's just for security matters." He says. I nod a reply before he moves on.

"What are the differences between a rock and an egg?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Is that a serious question?" I asked.

"Yes Kate." He smirks. I nod.

"Ok uh, you can eat eggs. Not rocks." I tell him. He nods to himself again.

"You wash up on a desert island alone; sitting on the sand next to you is a box, what is in that box?"

"A Swiss army knife" I answered immediately. He smirks.

"Ok, last question."

"Thank god" I sighed. He smirks again.

"Why are you here?" I thought for a moment.

"I-…" I hesitate my answer. This could the decision question whether or not I get into SHIELD. I glance to my left; seeing the SHIELD symbol and the shield in the center. "I wanna help be the shield that protects people. Stand between them and the things they don't fully understand." I took my eyes away from it and looked at Coulson. He nods to himself before looking at me.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." He smiles. I let out a breath and nod. I guess it could have been worse. "You're all done here Miss Sanders." He says; taking the thing off my finger along with the other stuff. I hopped off of chair and walked towards the door. It opened before I could get there and I saw Steve, Clint, and Natasha. I smile and follow them out.

"Alrighty- ." Clint starts; clapping his hands together. "Off to Physical training crap" He says. I smirk; following them down the hall.

~0~

We walked into a big gym and my eyes trailed over it. There were mats; punching bags, training courses, catwalks above, everything you could think of!

"Christ, this is a lot bigger than the one at the tower." I say; looking around. I hear them chuckle as we walked over to a different area.

"Ok-" We stopped walking. "Just a heads up Kate, this isn't gonna be a walk in the park. There gonna test you to your limit ok?" Steve says. I swallow and nod. I saw several people behind them; slightly older than me probably. "It's pretty much a spar match." He adds. I nod again before walking onto the mats. The first one that walked up was a girl.

"Hi, I'm Sasha." She held out a hand. I cautiously shook it. "Ok, so just show me what ya got ok?" She says in a kind voice. I nod; getting serious.

"Can I use my ability?" She nods.

"Hell yeah kid, go all out." She says. I grin and nod; glancing at Steve who gave me a nod. I looked back at Sasha before getting into a secure stance.

Let's do this.

Within seconds Sasha was running at me I suddenly felt vulnerable and dropped to the ground; not before she kicked my legs out from under me. She was about to pin me when I subconsciously tucked my legs into my stomach and kicked out; hitting her chest and knocking her back. I put my hands behind my head; pushing myself right to my feet before getting his in the face and rolling across the floor.

I quickly pushed myself up and secured my feet. Ok, how do I beat this chick?

I was too late to get out of my thoughts when I got hit hard in the stomach. I lost my footing and fell back; then felt someone catch my arm. I looked up; seeing Natasha. I smirked and she pushed me back up. I quickly ran at Sasha. She jumped; doing a kick; I slid down on my knees behind her; hooking her foot and pulling it out; tripping her.

"Alright!" I stopped what I was doing; seeing a different man to my left. I pushed myself to my feet and so did Sasha.

"Nice go greeny." She says; fist bumping me. I gave a small smile.

"Nice moves Miss Sanders. Let's bump it up a notch shall we?" He says. As soon as this all ended it started up again. Three men came onto the mats and broke into action. I dodged a punch from one and then felt my legs get kicked out from under me as I hit the mats. I blew the air from my face and then felt one of them pin me.

I suddenly felt my eyes flash and then my form begin to shift. No no no no no no no. Seconds later I felt an enormous amount of strength and shoved the guy off of me. A roar escaped my mouth before I jumped at one of the others and pinned him to the ground with another roar.

I wasn't in complete control. I could feel it. I felt feeling of rage, anger, and then the little bit of humanity that was quickly fading. I had to get out of here before I lost it. I quickly looked around and saw the catwalks above. I got off of the guy and then felt the two other men tackle me. I slithered out of their grips. There was a suddenly loud noise and I froze; looking around.

The man from early blew an air horn. He began to clap.

"Good, but how will you do with several agents?" He says. I felt my form shift back and I took in a deep breath. Ok, got control back. I don't know why I just lost it earlier. Weird.

I suddenly saw at least 7 agents surrounding me now. I took in a deep breath again. Ok, let's do this.

~0~

Dear god, help me. That physical training sucked! We already got done everything else. The medical stuff was ok, and the background check was fine. Boring mostly, I would say. Now we were heading back to the Tower. Everyone kept saying I did great. I wanted to think so. But I lost control with those agents. I could have hurt them. If I was gonna be a SHIELD agent, then I would have to learn to have better control.

Let's just hope I can manage it.

**Sorry everyone! I am trying so hard to keep up with everything! I literally just typed this up in a matter of an hour… few…. Please review if it was ok. I know there are probably some grammar mistakes and other crap. I'm trying my best… :) Please give me some support too! If that's ok. And also, if we could tone it down on requests for a few weeks. Just until I get school crap under control. :) That would be great! Thank you so much everyone for sticking with me. Ii know there are plenty of better stories out there, and still some of you like to read mine, it really makes me feel the least bit important in my crazy life! :) I love you all! :D Until next time!**


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

**Hey everyone! :D I wanted to give you this chapter! And I know some of you probably wanted this to happen so here you go! This chapter shall be a bit long! So I hope you enjoy reading it! **

**3 WEEKS LATER….**

I open one eye, seeing several people. I shrug it off; closing my eyes again.

Wait- there are several people in my room?! Both of my eyes shot open and I sat up; seeing everyone standing in my room. I raise an eyebrow and swallow.

"Uh... hi?" I say. They all smile and I nod slowly. Ok... This is really weird. Pepper was in the middle, Natasha and Tony were to her left and Bruce, Steve and Clint were on her right.

"Ok, you need to wear this." Pepper says; holding up a bandana. I furrow my eyebrows.

"Ok, I'm a little confused here-"

"Don't worry you won't be able to see for only a moment." Pepper says cheerfully. Then my eyebrows shot up.

"Pardon? I can't see!?" I speak up; almost shouting with confusion. She nods; then turns to everyone and starts to shoo them out. She turns back and had a camera in her hand.

"Whoa whoa whoa. What's with the camera?!" I asked.

"Smile!" I frantically pull together a smile, even though I was a bed head and I probably had some dried drool on my face. There was a flash and I dropped the smile.

"Ok, Steve. Do you mind?" She handed him the bandana. He slowly takes it and walks over to me. I smirk.

"Don't run me into a wall." He laughs.

"No promises." He gently put it over my eyes and I subconsciously put my hands out in front of me as he directed me toward the door. Ok, what the hell going on? This is getting really weird.

"Watch out for the window." I hear Clint say.

"Not funny feathers." I mutter.

A few minutes later when we walked out of the elevator I felt the hand on my shoulder disappear. I went to take a step forward.

"Stay there." Pepper says. I look around; still not able to see anything. It was quiet for a quick moment before I let my shoulders slump and I waited for something to happen. "Ok, take it off."

"Thank god." I mumble. I fiddle with the knot on the bandana for a few seconds. I make a face when I can't get it. "Jesus, Steve what kind of knot did you tie?!" I say in an amused tone. I got it off after my comment and pulled the cloth away. Light went right to my eyes and I closed them briefly; letting them adjust.

I opened them again; this time seeing a lay out I had not seen before. It was all... party like!

I look at them with an eyebrow raised when I saw them all standing in front of a collapsible table with a birthday cover on it and streamers were all over the place.

"Happy very, very late birthday Kate." Pepper says with a chuckle. I smile and chuckle a bit.

"You know, you didn't have to make up for the birthday I missed guys." I chuckle; walking over and hugging Pepper.

"Your part of the family now kid, it comes with the package." Tony smirks.

~0~

After hugging everyone Pepper insisted that I open a few presents. And I have to admit. I got some pretty cool stuff.

Besides from a few books that I really wanted to read, I got some punching wraps for my hands, some movies that I also had wanted to see, and an awesome 9mm gun! Haha! You should have seen Pepper's face. It was from Natasha and Clint. But she was like, "what?!" It was funny.

I continued to practice wrapping my hands while Clint was sitting on my far left watching TV. Everyone else was kinda up and about.

"Cake time!" Pepper called over. Both Clint's and my head shot up and we were over in a flash; taking a seat at the table.

After Pepper brought over her beautiful chocolate cake, we had an argument on singing happy birthday.

"No, really, you don't have to sing." I insist.

"Sure we do! It's a birthday party!" Pepper said back. I was forced to sit through it; looking red in the face the whole time. Despite being really _really_ **really** out of tune... They were ok singers. Natasha had a pretty good voice, and so did Clint! Surprisingly. They finished singing and I smiled down at the cake.

"You have to make a wish." Clint whispers. I rolled my eyes and went into thinking mode. A wish... What do I want exactly...? My smile faded and I went into deep thinking mode.

"What is it?" Natasha asked. I looked up at them.

"I uh, don't know what to wish for." I chuckle. "There's not much less that I could want or ask for." I smirk. They all smiled.

"Well-... Wish for- world peace or somethin." Tony says.

"Then we'd be out of the job." Clint mutters. I laugh softly. A wish popped into my head suddenly and I blew out the 16 candles. There was clapping until Clint spoke up. "What'd ya wish for?"

"I can't tell you! Then it wouldn't come true." I feel my smile go away for a second once I said that. My wish was that my new family would live as long as possible, no matter the enemies they faced. "Yeah." I say more to myself. "I definitely can't tell you." I grin to reassure them.

~0~

After we had cake and ice cream, Natasha, Clint, and Steve spoke up.

"There's one other thing." Natasha says. I raised an eyebrow but followed everyone over to the couch. I sat down and Natasha sat down on one side of me and Steve sat down on the other. Clint stood off to the side and everyone else sat down on the couch diagonal to us.

Clint hands a box to Natasha and she hands it to me. I hesitantly take it; looking it over. It was just a plain clothing box pretty much; a bit bigger in height/width though.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Just a little something." Steve says. I looked back down at the box. I took in a deep breath before removing the lid. There was tissue paper. I carefully removed it before my eyes went down on a-... Shirt?

I pulled it up slightly; seeing it was a suit. I held it out in front of me; still sitting on the couch. It looked kinda like Natasha's black cat suit, but this one was a navy blue.

My mouth was open in awe when Steve handed me a second item.

I looked at it in question. It was a box about the size of my hand. I lye the suit down; taking the box and pulling the silky string of the ribbon off. I carefully took the top of it off and stopped. My heart beat was in my ears and I couldn't breathe for a few seconds.

It was a SHIELD badge.

I couldn't close my mouth as I carefully opened it up and saw my picture in it with s bit of information.

"Welcome to SHIELD, Kate." Clint smirks. I looked at him, then Natasha, and then Steve before looking at the badge again.

"A-are you serious?" My voice squeaked. They nodded. I looked back down at the badge for a minute. "You're sure this isn't a joke?" I demand. That wouldn't be cool.

"No Kate, it's for real." Steve chucked.

I felt like the world stopped for a few seconds. I was officially a SHIELD agent.

Ok- who's closest to me?

I quickly glance around; seeing Natasha was a bit closer than Steve was. I quickly pulled her into a hug which definitely caught her off guard. I heard Clint laughing when Natasha tensed at my enthusiasm. I let go of her; hearing her take in a breath before I turned and pulled Steve into a hug which he saw coming, after Natasha's, and returned it. I let go of him; turning and looking for Clint who was behind the couch. I got up and went to hug him.

I turned; seeing Pepper, Tony, and Bruce over at the other couch. I gave Tony a side hug, Bruce tensed but did hug me back and I got the Pepper. She looked shocked.

"Thanks." I hug her and she gives me a hug back.

"Yeah I uh, wish I could say I knew about this." She chuckled. I raise an eyebrow.

"Yeeaaaahh... We couldn't tell you for... classified reason." Clint mumbles the last part. I laughed, seeing Pepper make a face. I sat back down in my seat and picked up the suit again. I looked closely at the shoulders; seeing a SHIELD symbol on the right shoulder and a star on the left. That seems to be the thing with me for some reason. There's always a star on the left shoulder. Even with my suit that Tony made for me.

"Wanna try it on?" Natasha asked. I looked up and nodded my head widely. Before she could say anything else I had my SHIELD badge in hand with my suit and I ran for the door.

~0~

I looked in the mirror at myself. I was in my suit and I looked like a badass. I'm about the size of Natasha, a bit taller. My suit looked a like hers in a few ways, but it was a dark navy blue with black.

A few minutes later I walked toward the door of my room and stopped. There's gotta be a more interesting way to get on the communal floor. I grin; looking up at the vent.

~0~

I inched farther down the vent and looked through the small gaps of one opening.

"Is uh... She coming down anytime soon?" I hear Clint's voice.

"Just give it a minute Barton." Natasha says. I smirk; looking down into the kitchen. As soon as no one was looking, I slowly removed the top of it and moved it to the side. I quietly lowered myself down and hit the ground with a soft thud. Peeking my head out above the counter; I slowly moved around the edge and slowly stood up.

After about 3 minutes my shoulders slumped and I let out a sigh.

"I've been here for a while now and no one seemed to notice." I say aloud. Everyone looked up; a bit startled.

"Jesus, how long were you standing there?" Clint asked. I give a big smile and a shrug.

"I dunno. Less than five."

"Does it fit well?" Natasha asked. I looked down at my suit; then turn my gaze back up at her.

"Yeah, feels good." I smirk; moving my arms back and forth.

"The material is designed so when you shift there's more durability." Steve says. I nod; looking back down at the suit again before grinning and shifting.

I looked down; seeing I was a Tiger.

I walked around the communal floor a bit before shifting into a different animal; a Bald eagle. Cool.

I flapped my wings a bit before gliding over to my spot on the couch; tucking my wings back on my back and ruffling up my feathers; letting a caw like screech escape my mouth.

"So do you like it?" Steve asked. I cocked my head to the side before bobbing my head.

"We were gonna give you your badge sooner; but since we never got to celebrate your birthday, we figured this way would be more fun." Clint says.

I shift back and put a hand through my hair; looking down at my suit.

I'm an agent of SHIELD. That's freaking awesome!

"Hey guys- holy shit what are you wearing?!" I looked toward the door seeing Sam walk out of the elevator with a small wrapped box in hand.

"Hey!" I jump over the couch and ran up to Sam; pulling her into a hug. She pulled out and looked me over.

"What's with the badass costume?" She laughed. I roll my eyes.

"It's a suit genius. And look-" I pulled my SHIELD badge out and showered her it; her eyes were now wide with excitement.

"Oh my god! You got in?!" I nod; grinning ear to ear. "Omg Kate, that's amazing!" She hugs me with a spare arm. "And here I am with your lame old gift!" She laughs. I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure your gift is fine!" I laugh. I take it out of her hand and walk back over to my spot on the couch. She walks over; standing behind me. Pulling the bow off; I took the top of the box off and removed the tissue paper. I felt my emotions overflow when I saw what it was. A photo album. I bit my lip and turned the first page.

Suddenly everyone was leaning in to see and I chuckled slightly. I looked at the pages; seeing me and Sam in most of them, and then some of us with my brother and his army friends and some with my parents too.

"Sam-" I looked up at her. "This is amazing, thank you." I stood up and leaned over the couch; pulling her into a hug.

"Least I could do bestie." She grins. I smile before sitting back down; looking through more pictures.

~0~

Today was one of the best days of my life. I guess I really am home now. This is my family. And I need to except that the past is in the past. I'm happy with the way my life has turned out. I really am.

There was an emergency Avenger meeting so everyone had to run; that was a few hours ago. I was in my room now; laying on my bed, still in my suit and staring at my SHIELD badge.

I can't believe I'm an agent! Oh my god, the feeling is overwhelming.

I smiled to myself; then heard a knock at my door. I looked over before placing my badge on my night stand and getting off my bed. I walked to the door and opened it. I looked up; seeing Steve. He stood up a bit straighter and smiled. He was still wearing his suit and everything; he did take off the mask though.

"Hi." I smile. He smirks.

"Hi, uh-" he clears his throat. "So I was talking to Sam a few days ago, and she was telling me about something you used to have before uh-" he trials off. "Well, you know..." He says. I nod; a smirk on my face. Don't know why no one wants to use the word "warehouse" it's not that bad. "Yeah, so... I was out and saw something..." he pulls out a small box and hands it to me. I slowly take it; looking it over. It was the type of box you'd put a piece of jewelry in. I glanced at him before slowly opening the box. I felt my mouth dry and my heart beat was echoing in my ears. I couldn't close my mouth.

It was a cross necklace. My family and I were Christians. And my parents got me a cross necklace that I wore all the time; it was a little similar to this one. The day I was taken I had taken it off for some reason.

"Now I know it's not the original, but-" I had to put a little spring in my step but I manage to jump up and rap my arms around his neck in a hug; making him stumble a little a first.

"Thank you." I say; just barely able to get my words out. I blinked a couple times to keep my eyes from watering.

"So you like it?" He asked. I let go; dropping back down to the floor. Considering he's over 6 feet tall and I'm only 5'5".

"Yes! Of course I do." I just about laugh. "Thank you." I smile up at him. He smiles and nods. I could tell he was relieved. He nods to himself before glancing down the hall.

"That's good." He smirks. I bit my lip and nod; bringing my eyes back down to the little box before looking back up at him. "Ok" he says. I smile again. "Night." I nod.

"Good night" He gives me one last nod before walking back down the hall. I swallow before quickly running after him and quickly hugging him around the waist; feeling him hug me back before I ran back to my room and gave him one more smile and a thank you before shutting my door.

Wow. I can't believe he actually did that. He's an awesome guardian- ok scratch that, he's the best guardian ever. I opened the box again; leaning against my door. It had individual crystals; 7 vertical and 5 across. It was amazing. I carefully took it out of the box and put it on; walking over to my mirror I looked at myself in the reflection; but mostly at the cross necklace.

I smiled to myself before grabbing my pajamas and going to get changed.

Minutes later I turned off my light and got in bed; smiling to myself as I put my hand up and feeling the thin chain of the necklace under my shirt; then glancing at my suit hanging on my closet door, and SHIELD badge and Photo Album on my night table.

Best. Birthday. Ever.

**Hope you enjoyed everyone! I know that some of you wanted her birthday to be celebrated so I made sure of having that as a chapter. Also, I want to let you know Fbicupcake that I love seeing your ideas and I will try my best to add them :) Please review everyone, and tell me what ya think! :D **


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

**Hey everyone! Got your next chapter! I also just want to take a moment and say, I hope you're all enjoying this story. When I first created my account it wasn't my intention to write. I was going to follow, favorite, and review other stories. But as you can see, that didn't last long. I didn't really think I was a good writer, and you all have changed the way I view myself and my writing ability. So I just wanted to say, thank you all so much! Luv ya! :) Now some time goes by here, just a heads up. Long chapter comin at ya! And…. Your all going to hate me soon… so I just want to say, I am so sorry everyone. **

Ever since that day that we celebrated my birthday, things have been… well…. A bit different. In a good way of course, but I've been doing more sparring, running more with Steve, and my physical abilities have been improving altogether. It's a nice feeling, you know? Oh, and by the way, the birthday thing was a month ago. Yeah, it feels like forever ago!

It's amazing how fast I've grown in SHIELD's ranks. Since I'm pretty experienced with Natasha and Clint working with me I already had a head start. And I actually already had most of the skills for education that I needed.

I walked into Fury's office and put my hands behind my back; waiting. I like- really hate this guy. He talks to me like the past 4 months haven't happened.

"Agent Sanders." I looked to my right; seeing him walk into the room; a file in hand. I gave him a barely noticeable nod. "I've been told that your training has been very successful so far here at SHIELD, is that correct?" I look at him and then the floor.

"I guess you could say that sir." I reply. He opens the file; looking something over. Is that file for me? Well that could be a good or bad thing… this better be like- important cause me and Sam were going to get Subway after this. And we'll be going to the movies first though to see some movie that she won't shut up about. But I can't wait for subway; I mean we'll be getting those really good chocolate chip cookies-

"Agent Sanders." My head shot up quickly; I zoned out. I clear my throat.

"I apologize sir." I say. Hell no I'm not.

"Yeah, I can tell." I can't help but smirk. He does have his moments. "I have a mission for you." My head shot up. WHAT!? He has a mission for me? Already?

"Sir, are you-"

"Yes, Agent Sanders. I'm sure I'm talking to the right Agent." How he knew I was going to ask that, I have no idea. I gave nod. He threw the file down on the desk for me to pick up.

"I know that your last group missions were… denied. But I feel that you should be able to handle this one." Steve was extremely strict over what missions he wanted me doing… Meaning I haven't gotten to go on my first mission yet. I know he's just being- what's the word I'm looking for… protective? I guess that would fit the description.

I pick it up and look through it quickly. All I had to do was bring this guy in. He was a murderer and had stolen SHIELD Intel. I guess this could be worse. Won't be too hard but not incredibly easy.

"When am I leaving?" I asked.

"Now." I raise an eyebrow but nod. Ok then. I give him a nod before walking for the door with the file.

"Agent Sanders" I turn back to face him. "I wouldn't mention this to anyone if I were you." He says. I gave a small nod.

"Understood." He gave me a nod and I walked out of the room.

…Screw it, I can't contain my excitement. Surely Steve will let me do this mission. It's not as dangerous as those group missions.

~0~

I walked down the hall of the Helicarrier; glancing into all the rooms and down the separate halls. I walked around the corner and see Steve approaching. I walk up and hold out the file; a big smile on my face.

"What's this?" He smirks; taking it and opening it up.

"My first mission." I reply. His face drops. He looks back up at me.

"Fury gave you a mission." He says. I nod.

"I know right?!" He looks back at the file. My smile slowly fades as I see his expression change. I had seen that face so many times at the mention of me and missions. This is how I image it in his head.

Me + SHIELD = End of the World.

"I don't think this is a good first mission." He says after a few seconds. I frown. Knew it.

"You said that about the last group mission." I say. He slowly nods. 'And the several before that." I add.

"Well they weren't." He argues. I roll my eyes.

"Well then what is a good first mission?" I cross my arms.

"One where you're not alone and someone else, or I'm there, watching you so yourself don't get killed." He stated notch handedly. I threw my hands in the air.

"You're the one who said and I quote! 'She needs to learn to defend herself'" I say in a more so masculine voice.

"One: I sound nothing like that, two: you weren't supposed to hear that conversation in the first place, and three: I'm in charge of you, and I don't think this is the right mission for you, for starters." He says; pointing at me with the file in hand. I scoff.

"When is there going to be a start!?" I yell. "You're the one who trusted me with this decision, so let me make it!"

"This has nothing to do with you making a decision. We're talking about you walking into something that you don't fully understand." He says.

"I know what I'm getting into." I argue.

"People, die in this organization everyday Kate. I don't want you to be one of them." He says.

"What are you saying? That in probability going to get myself killed? Well that really boosts my self-esteem." I state; looking away, arms crossed.

"I never said that Kate, stop twisting my words." He mumbles. I roll my eyes looking back over.

"Maybe you didn't say it but you thought it."

"Well, whether you like it or not, I was still in charge of you, last time I checked, so whatever I say regarding you as an agent goes." He says in a stern tone. I felt a slight chill as I held my gaze. His glare scares me, I have to admit.

"You know what? I don't have to listen to you. You're not my dad." I take the file out of his hand and storm down the hall. "Oh, and just for the record; I never asked to be adopted!" I yell and storm out the door.

~0~

A FEW HOURS LATER…

I walked onto the communal floor; slamming the stairwell door behind me, and sat down in the couch. I can't believe that he won't let me go on the mission. Why should he be able to decide which missions I can and can't go on! I glare out the window. My gaze was cold and deadly as I stared at the city outside.

Well…. I guess the last things I said were a little uncalled for. I felt my gaze soften. Now I'm completely regretting the last thing I said to him. God, I'm such an idiot.

I heard the elevator door opened. "Hey Kate." I hear Pepper from behind me.

"Hi." I mumble. I hear her chuckle.

"Well that doesn't sound happy at all." She states, sitting down next to me. "What's going on?" I cross my arms.

"Fury gave me my first solo missions. And Steve won't let me go." I mumbled. I could see Pepper almost smile out of the corner of my eye. I knew she was happy about that. SHIELD wasn't her first choice in what I should do with my life as you all know.

"Well I'm sorry, but… maybe there's a reason for it." She tries to make me feel better. I let out a huff. "He's just being protective, Kate." She chuckles.

"_Yeah; overly protective; as usual." _

"You can't blame him for that." Pepper chuckles. My eyes widened for a moment. Shit, I said that out loud. "He cares about you a lot Kate. He just doesn't want anything to happen to you." She says; putting an arm around me. I don't respond; looking at the floor. …I guess she's right… "Here, why not watch a little TV?" She says. The TV turned on, thanks to Jarvis; and the news was on. I looked up briefly, and then turned my gaze back on the ground.

"Breaking news in New York City, several dozen attacks have occurred on several streets leading toward Stark Tower. Recent reports have spotted the group known as the Avengers going to fight-" suddenly the building shook violently as the alarm started to blare; knocking the power out. We were thrown to the floor and I quickly pushed myself to my feet; as did Pepper.

"Get to the roof. Now." Pepper ordered immediately. I don't hesitate, and run with her to the stairs. "Jarvis, are they in the building?"

"My cameras indicate that the hostiles are in the building Ms. Potts, I have informed Mr. Stark, he is on his way here now."

"Tell him to meet us on the roof." She says. I follow her up the flights of stairs and hear something with my advanced hearing from my ability. I look down the gap; seeing people running up the stairs.

"There heading up!" One yells

Something clicked in my mind and I slowed down enough til I was running behind her. We won't reach the top in time if I don't slow them down. As an agent I'm trained to handle these situations. I took a deep breath and slowed down more.

~0~

Pepper ran to the edge of the building and saw Tony fly over; landing at the edge.

"Where's Kate?" He says; his voice slightly robotic.

"She's right-" Pepper turned but Kate wasn't there. "She was right behind me.-"

"We need to get you out of here; I'll come back and get her." He says; picking her up and flying her off the Tower. He knew that Kate was a pretty experienced agent now and she could handle herself if it came down to it.

~0~

I felt my form shift as I leaped down the stairs 3 at a time. I felt a bark escape my mouth as I leaped at the first guy I saw; snapping and clawing at this throat before moving onto the next; leading them back down the stairs.

I finally reached the bottom and the 4 still left, chased me through the lobby and out the door. I came to a halt, and snapped at one of the guys legs. He stumbled to the ground and I got a hold of his arm; shaking violently. He cried out; and I saw the other 3 run toward the main fight.

Letting go of the guy's arm I started running toward the three men. One of them turned; gun pointed. I came to a dead stop.

It couldn't be. I thought he was dead.

In front of me was the man named Allen. He was the one that threatened to kill my parents if I tried anything back at the warehouse. He was the one that killed Stella, Bethany, and one of my best friends; Trish. His eyes widened as he recognized me and my lips curled back into a snarl. He lowered his gun briefly and raised an eyebrow at me.

I growled and felt my fur bristle on edge. He looked around; then turned behind him and saw Natasha and Steve fighting off several of the people. He turned back to me; seeing me eyeing them and grinned. I knew that look all too well. I growled him a warning. He grinned again in an evil way and started to back up.

Oh no. He chuckled to himself before turning and running toward them. I broke into a sprint and began to gain on him. Hell no. I'm not losing anyone else that I care about to this asshole.

~0~

Natasha round kicked her opponent in the head before kicking his feet out from under him and knocking him out. Steve threw his shield at 2 men before sending a punch at one and the catching his shield, before hitting another guy in the stomach.

4 people ran at Natasha and 5 at Steve. She began to fight them all off and Steve started fighting the others. Natasha got a glimpse of a guy running up behind Steve; a gun in hand. He was already busy with the other 5 with guns.

"Rogers! Behind you!" She yelled over the gun fire; still engaged in the fight. He knocked the one guy out and turned; seeing the guy with the gun raised when something tackled him to the ground. He heard a gunshot and the dog bit down on his throat and shook him violently. It dropped the now limp body and looked over at him.

Natasha looked back; seeing that it was Kate. Knocking the last guy out, she ran back into the main fight.

...

I got to my feet; shaking my head from the fall and turned to see Steve about 20 yards away. He gave a small smile and a nod. I gave a smile and was about to return his nod when I saw his expression change. His smile disappeared and I saw a look of horror replacing it. His eyes trailed away from mine.

What are you looking a-

Suddenly I feel my stomach tighten and twist, followed by a sharp pain. I look down. Then slowly putting a hand to my stomach. I slowly take it away and see it covered...

In blood... In my blood.

I feel my breath shallow and my hands get cold, and sweaty. I was shot... I-I was shot. Oh god, please no.

I felt my heart beat pounding in my ears and my breath quickly got rapid.

My eyes trailed back up and I saw him looking at me. I couldn't tell his expression anymore; everything got blurry and I could feel my legs start to give way and I see him running toward me. Next thing I knew I was on the ground and he looking down at me with worried eyes.

"Natasha!" I hear him yell. Suddenly she's standing over me; and quickly kneeling down. Everything looked funny, like in slow motion and it was fuzzy. I swallowed and blinked a few times. My throat was on fire.

"I-I I'm sorry. Ab-bout what I said on the c-c-ca-… t-the carrier." Natasha was doing something and I suddenly felt a pain shoot through my body and I couldn't tell if I screamed or not. Holy freakin shit! Damn it Nat, oh my god.

"No I'm sorry Kate…" He looked up for a moment and I think he was blinking several times. "Look it doesn't matter now ok?" Steve says. I started struggling for breath. My eyes watered and I blinked several times to keep them back.

"But I-it does. I d-didn't mean it at all." I repeat. "And y-yo-you also need to know that I-" I swallowed several breaths and coughed a quick sob before taking in a breath. "I-"

"Listen, you're gonna be fine ok?" His voice cracked and he looked down at me.

"B-but you need to know tha-…. Tha-" My eyes fluttered and pulled in a raspy breath. It started to go dark.

I felt my head jolt and my eyes flew open again. "Hey- , hey you tell me later. You'll be fine, you hear me?" I nod and he gently lowers my head back onto the pavement.

"Press here." Natasha told him. Suddenly I felt a hell of a lot of pain and I bit my tongue to keep myself from crying. I squeezed my eyes shut before opening them again; feeling several tears roll down my cheeks. I see him left his hand a bit as he looked around us; probably for other bad people. I feel my eyes trail down to his hand… which was now soaked in my blood. I feel my heart beat in my ears again; drowning out the sound. My vision started getting blurry and… kinda bright. It's so weird. Almost sparkly or watery.

I start seeing spots in my vision... What the hell? Ok, stay awake. I can't freakin die now. I think my eyes are closing. Then someone shakes me.

"Hey hey, Kate, listen you gotta stay awake for me, ok?" Steve orders, I can tell his voice was shaken up. I nod; swallowing as I feel my mouth begin to dry out again. My body was on fire, but numb at the same time, it was the weirdest freakin feeling I've ever felt... And the most painful. I can't even begin to describe the pain; there aren't any words I can think of right now.

"She's burning up; we have to get her to a hospital." Natasha says; after I feel a hand on my forehead.

"Hey Steve?" I swallow; looking over at him. He was trying to help Natasha in any way he could at the moment, but did glance at me.

"Yeah Kate?" He says.

"I-I love you...?" I swallow; telling him in a questioning tone. He froze; then looks down at me. I could tell he was shocked and didn't know what to say. "I-I just wanted t-to tell you it's n-n-…." I took in a shaky breath. "nice ha-aving you as my dad." I smile nervously. He looked speechless… and terrified too but that's not the point. I see four other figures coming up behind them, probably Clint, Thor, Banner, and Stark. My vision started cutting out and I feel my breath leaving my lungs.

"Kate? Kate, come on, please- …" The voice became muffled; I couldn't tell he was talking. I didn't even hear the rest of that sentence. I feel my eyes close all the way...

…And then it went black.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

**I'm so sorry everyone! I hope you still read this! Please review if you are pissed off at me and you want me to make up for the previous chapter. XD**

**And also, I have a quick shout out/thank you. So everyone should check out the author: melissawtf. She inspired me for this story, so you should all put a thank you to her in the reviews! XD And check out her stories too! There amazing; my inspiration in the flesh! - Or… device… hehe**

**Melissawtf: You have no idea how much your writing changed me! That sounded cheesy, but whatever! XD Your writing gave me some courage to write too, so THANK YOU!**

**-Quick note for this story, I revised chapters 1 and 7. So if you want; check them out when you have time ;)**

Natasha put her finger up to Kate's neck; looking for a pulse.

"She's fading." She says quickly. "We-" Before she could finish Steve adjusted his shield on his arm and picked Kate up; letting her head rest on the underside of his shield as he turned; looking for the street. He started walking when Tony put a hand on his shoulder.

"I can get there faster Cap." He says. Steve looks at him; then down at Kate. He handed her off to him.

"You get her there Stark." Steve orders. Tony gave a nod and quickly took off; flying toward the nearest hospital.

~0~

Minutes later; Steve, Clint, Natasha, Thor, and Bruce burst through the front door of the hospital. They caught a glimpse of Kate's stretcher disappearing around the corner. Several people in the waiting room looked up; furrowing their eyebrows at the people that had walked in.

Steve clenched his jaw; blinking several times before putting a hand through his hair. Natasha looked up at him.

"She's gonna be fine, Steve." She says; putting a hand on his shoulder. Sniffing in a breath before letting it out, he didn't look at her. Giving a small nod he started walking down the hall; putting his shield on his back as he went.

~0~

**A FEW HOURS LATER…**

After the surgery, Natasha, Clint, Thor, and Bruce walked into room 107. Steve was sitting in in the chair left of the bed; leaning on his fist. Tony was leaning against the wall; his arms crossed firmly over his chest. Everyone just kinda spread out. Thor stood by the window, Natasha sat down at the foot of the bed; eyeing Kate. Clint was standing behind Steve; leaning against the spare bed closer to the door, and Bruce was next to the door; crossing his arms over his chest as well.

Suddenly Pepper walked into the room with Sam right behind her. Everyone looked over; seeing them walk in. Sam put a hand over her mouth to muffle any sounds. Pepper wrapped an arm around her shoulder and sniffled; wiping the rim of her eyelid with her finger.

Sam slowly walked over to the bed and walked over to the opposite side; sitting in the chair opposite of Steve's. She put a hand to her head; pushing the hair out of her face while she had her hand up and grabbed a hold of Kate's with the other; letting a single tear roll down her cheek.

"How di-." Pepper started when Natasha looked up and shook her head; then nodded to the hallway. They walked out and Natasha closed the door behind them. "How did this happen?" She asked; barely above a whisper.

"I didn't see much. All I know is the guy was running up behind Steve, and she took him to the ground before he got there." Natasha says. Pepper nodded; glancing in the room.

"Is there any way we can- you know… find out what actually happened? There has to be at least a few cameras around that area." Pepper says; looking back at Natasha.

"It's possible that a few cameras survived the explosions. I'll have some agents check it out." Pepper nods and then looks at the ground. She looks back into the room.

"How's he taking it?" She asked. Natasha looked into the window at Steve; who was still sitting in the chair.

"He blames himself." She says; shaking her head. "It was my fault. I should have been able to-"

"It was none of your faults." Pepper says. "It was that guy. And no one else." She makes clear. Natasha gave a very small smile and a nod before her smile disappeared. They walked back into the room and closed the door.

~0~

Later that night Steve, Natasha, Clint, and Sam stayed the night with Kate. Everyone else went home to calm down a bit.

Natasha walked into room 107 with a bag of takeout. She placed it on the bed and took out a burger, and held it out to Steve. He completely ignored her presence and she just nodded to herself; putting the burger back in the bag. She looked over at Sam. She glanced up with blood shot eyes. She gave a small and saddened smile; holding up a water bottle. She nodded and Natasha walked over; handing it to her. She then walked back to the foot of the bed; sitting down.

There was a slight knock on the door and Natasha turned; seeing Doctor Blake standing at the door. Natasha immediately got up and walked with him out into the hall; she closed the door slightly behind her.

"How is she?"

"I can't give you much good news at the moment, but the bullet it out, so that's the good part. But her temperature is a bit hotter than I feel comfortable with, so I can't say she'll be ok just yet. She might not make it." He says. Natasha nods; a hand to her chin as she took in the information.

"Is there anything we can do?"

"Keep her comfortable. That about all, if there's any change at all, make sure to let me know." He says. Natasha gives a nod and he walks down the hall.

Natasha opened the door and walked back in; seeing they hadn't moved from their spots. No one bothered to speak for the rest of the night.

~0~

_**10 YEARS EALIER… **_

"_Kate! Come down honey!" Her mom shouted upstairs. Seconds later there was the pattering of bare feet and a little 5 year old Kate ran into the kitchen in her purple pajama shirt and pants. She took a bowl of frosted cheerios off the counter before toddling into the living room and sitting in the middle of the floor; watching Kim Possible. It was her favorite show growing up. She watched every episode and always liked acting out her favorite ones. _

"_James, put those things down for a few seconds and take these out to the living room." Their mother said; looking at James. He was playing with his little green army men at the kitchen table. It was covered so they were forced to eat at the coffee table. _

_James sighed before putting down his army captain and walking over to his mom. He took the two plates and walked into the family room. _

"_Here little sis" He put Kate's plate down in front of her. She put another cheerio in her mouth before picking up one of the chicken nuggets on her plate and nibbling it. _

"_I'm home!" Their dad sings as he walks in the front door. Kate looked over before giggling and pushing herself up and running over._

"_Daddy!" She squealed. He put his bag over his shoulder and pulled her up into his arms. _

"_How ya doin pumpkin?" He asked; looking her over. _

"_Hon, I have dinner in here. Wanna give me a hand?" Their mom called. He looked over before smiling at Kate and putting her back down; walking into the kitchen. _

"_How's my little soldier." Their dad said; ruffling up James' hair. He smiled before going back to his army men. _

"_What are we gonna watch while we eat?" James asked from the table. Their mom looked over and so did their dad. _

"_Well you know…. I might have brought a little something home with me… "Their dad pulled a movie case out of his bag. It was the Scooby-doo movie. The one with real people. James gasped before running over and pulling it from his father's grasp and running into the family room. _

"_Katie! Look what we got!" He held out the DVD. She gasped before grabbing it._

"_Scoooby- da!" They laughed._

"_Close enough!" Her brother chuckled. _

~0~

_**A FEW HOURS LATER…**_

_After finishing dinner and watching the Scooby-Doo movie Kate was being put to bed. She crawled into her bed and got under her covers. _

"_Night pumpkin" Her dad kissed her forehead before her mom walked in._

"_Good night munchkin!" She said; tickling her tummy and making the young brunette giggle. She kissed her forehead as well before turning off the light and closing the door only slightly. _

"_When do you think it will happen?" Their dad; Mike asked. Her mom; Miranda shook her head._

"_I don't know. Soon I think." They peaked back in; seeing Kate was already fast asleep. They closed the door all the way before locking it. "Now, we wait." She sighed. _

…

_Only minutes later they heard a crash and they both stood up from the cushioned bench in the hall. Mike pulled the little peak slot handle to the right; allowing a clear line of sight through the door and into the room. There was a little wolf pup running around and destroying everything. He sighed before looking back to Miranda. _

"_What is it this time?" She asked. Taking a log book._

"_It's uh…. Grey wolf pup, about same age as Kate." He ends with a sigh. She wrote it down under today's date and glanced at all the others. Every night, Kate would shift in her sleep. Not a good habit, but the shifts were increasing. She was doing it more and more, and sooner or later; they both realized she would be able to do it on command, or when she was too emotional to control it. _

**End of chapter! Hope you liked, I'll be doing flashbacks in upcoming chapters too, so please review! **

**Again, let's all say together: THANK YOU MELISSAWTF! :) **


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

**Next chapter up! Hope you enjoy! Thanks, TeamPhoenix18 for suggesting the songs for this chapter! :) Those of you, who don't know the songs, look them up! There amazing :) (well in my opinion at least XD) **

It had been a day since Kate had been shot. Steve was still there and so was Natasha. Clint took Sam back to her family's apartment.

"Hey, do you have her phone?" Steve asked; taking his eyes off Kate for a moment and looking at Natasha.

"Yeah, they got it before they started the surgery." She said; walking over to a bag at the foot of the bed. She got a smaller bag out of it and handed it to him. He let out a breath; seeing the phone was stained with blood. He slowly took it out of the bag before picking up a small towel and wiping all the blood off the screen. He turned her phone over seeing she had an Avengers case with their logo. Turning the phone back over; he pushed the home screen button seeing his shield as the screen saver. Smiling to himself, he typed in her password and went to her music.

"What are you doing?" Natasha asked in a curious tone.

"She always liked listening to these two songs. They're her favorite." He says with a small shrug; glancing up at her briefly after a few seconds. He put the phone on the port and pushed play. The song Home; by Phillip Phillips began to play.

_"Hold on, to me as we go. As we roll down this unfamiliar road. And although this wave (wave) is stringing us along... Just know you're not along. 'Cause I'm gonna make this place your home..." _

The music was playing quietly enough so it wouldn't disturb others.

It was on repeat with the song; _Gone Gone Gone_, also by Phillip Phillips. He kept his eyes on Kate's half lifeless body.

"She has a good taste in music." Clint said; walking in as _Home _continued to play; his hands in his pockets. Natasha looked at him and gave a small smile. "Anything from Doctor Blake?" Clint asked.

"Nothing good" Natasha almost whispered. "They don't know if she'll make it or no-"

"She's make it." Steve cuts her off; almost making his voice crack as if he didn't want to imagine if she didn't make it. Natasha only gave a small nod and a smile.

~0~

**5 YEARS AGO…**

"_For homework tonight, I want you all to research the animal you chose for your projects-" The bell ran as Mrs. Bowmen; the English teacher finished talking. "Have a good weekend everyone!" She called as students started collecting their belongings and heading for the door. _

_Kate picked up her journals, sticking them in her backpack before putting it over her shoulder. Sam walked up a few seconds later._

"_We're still having our sleepover at my house right?" She asked excitedly. Kate smiled and nodded. _

"_Yep, I'm walking home with you." The 10 year old said. Sam gave an excited smile before they walked for the door. _

_Minutes later, Kate and Sam walked out the doors of their school and toward their neighborhood. _

"_So I was thinking that we could go down to the creek after we finish our homework?" Sam asked. Kate looked over before smiling. _

"_Ooo! And we can catch those baby frogs!" She added with a laugh. They continued to walk down the sidewalk when they heard footsteps running up behind them. Suddenly Kate's book was ripped from her grasp and thrown into a puddle._

"_Hey losers!" A girl said; stopping them with her girlfriends at her sides. _

"_What's it this time?" One said looking at the cover of Kate's book that was in the mud. She chuckled under her breath. "Another stupid military book I see" She rolls her eyes; spinning a strand of hair on her finger. _

_Sam glared at them before looking at Kate. Her eyes flashed before she clenched her fists. Oh no. Sam thought. She looked back at the girls. _

"_Back off Jessie." Sam growled. Jessie and her posy; Bethany, Angie, and Mikala. _

"_Oh what are you? Her little security guard?" Bethany spat. The 4 girls rolled their eyes before pushing through them and walking back the way they came. Sam walked over and picked up Kate's book from the puddle; wiping he water off using her shirt before handing it back to her._

"_Don't listen to them K" Sam says; shouldering her playfully. Kate only gave a small nod as they kept walking. _

~0~

**PRESENT DAY…**

Natasha walked room 107 and made an abrupt stop; seeing Steve _still _there.

"For God sakes Steve, you need to get out of that freakin chair and do something." She says. He glances at her; not saying anything. "You've barely left this room in the last 3 days she's been here. You need to get your ass out of this room. Stop punishing yourself for something you didn't do." He didn't look at her has he looked at the floor. She walked into the room; crossing her arms over her chest before waiting for a response. He was quiet. "It wasn't. Your. Fault." She says in a low tone. That seemed to motivate him enough. He got out of the chair; towering over her slightly.

"It is my fault, Natasha! If I had just trusted her in the first place with that mission she wouldn't be here!" He says. She could see he was really unstable… physically, and emotionally. She holds her gaze, not backing down.

"Well sitting here isn't doing anything for her. So I suggest you go back to the tower, shower, change, and then go for a walk." She says; nodding to the door. He glances down at this suit, which he was still wearing. He gives Natasha one more look before picking up his shield and putting it on his back and walking out of the room.

Natasha sighed and rolled her eyes before sitting down in his chair. She looked at Kate; she looked peaceful. She grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly for a moment. She was quiet for a few seconds.

"You'll pull through Sanders. I just know it." She whispers more to herself.

~0~

Steve walked onto the communal floor; seeing Thor, Clint, Tony, and Bruce sitting on the couches.

"Hey, long time no see Cap." Tony states. Steve sends him a glare.

"Not in the mood Stark." He warns; walking into the kitchen.

"C'mon Rogers, cheer up a bit will ya? She'll be fine." Tony says; taking a sip of his beer. Steve slams to fridge door and sends him another glare.

"-" Pepper cuts him off before he could say something that he would probably regret.

"Go clean yourself up, you're filthy!-" She says; looking him over. "-Then come down and get something to eat." She orders. He was still covered in dirt, blood and ash from the battle; and incident; days ago and his hair was messed up and dirty. He turns another glare on Tony. Tony raised his hands in surrender; beer in hand; before he walked for the elevator, the door closing behind him.

"Geash, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed-... Chair, this morning." Tony mumbled. Pepper huffed.

"You know he's blaming himself for this. Cut him some sack." She says. He rolls his eyes.

"The kid"ll be fine. She's tougher than she looks." He says in an arguing tone. Pepper nods. She knew he was worried about her. But he wasn't going to cry a river.

"We should tell Fury." Clint says suddenly

"That would be wise." Thor says in agreement.

"C'mon, what the hells' eye patch gonna do? Send a get well card?" Tony says in a slightly pissed off tone.

"Well, he does need to know that she can't go on missions." Bruce speaks up. Tony just rolls his eyes; sipping his beer before putting it on the counter.

~0~

**A FEW HOURS LATER…**

Sam threw her bag over her shoulder before walking out of the bakery and toward home. She was cut from her shift early. After accidently yelling at a few ungrateful customers her boss sent her home for the day to cool off.

She crossed the street and waved over a taxi. It pulled over but before she got into the car she saw someone walking on the other side of the street. She waved for the taxi to keep going and walked across the street. Not seeing another taxi that honked at her making her jump. It put on its brakes before it stopped right in front of her.

"Asshole!" She yelled and kicked the front of the car before it honked at her again and she turned seeing Steve furrow his eyebrows. "Hey" She says in a much calmer voice with a small wave.

"Uh, hey Sam." He greets; still a bit confused before he picked up a walk with her walking up beside him.

"I'm kinda surprised that you're out here." Sam says with a small chuckle. He gives a small shrug.

"Natasha kicked me out." He finally admits. Sam laughs.

"Oh, I see how it is." She smirks; trying to keep the mood positive. He nods after a few seconds. Sam bit her lip before speaking up. "So, how is she?" He let out a breath before speaking.

"She's ok." He says; sounding down. She wasn't really used to him being so…. Somber.

"Well, let me know if there's a change k?" She says; stopping. He stops too before nodding. "See ya" Steve gave a nod before Sam walked toward the street her apartment was on. He watched her walk around the corner before continuing his walk. He didn't bother going to the park to jog, or even going to the park in general.

**Sorry I took some time to update this chapter XD Please review! And if you all don't mind, for a few weeks I need to put your requests on hold if that's ok. School is killing me! Ugh… XD**


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

**Hey everyone! I hope you're all still reading this… :) I know I'm taking FOREVER to update, and I am so so sorry about that! School is seriously trying to prevent this update XD Please enjoy this next chapter! OH! And also, the next few chapters I will be updating over this weekend because you'll all hate me if I stop an upcoming chapter and leave it for a few weeks, so that's why it took me so long to post; because I wrote the next few chapters after this as well. Enjoy!**

**THERE WILL BE A BIG ANNOUNCMENT AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER! So please read all bolded words! :) **

A couple hours later, Steve walked back into the hospital. Once he was told Natasha had left and was given the all clear by Clint, he wanted to get back as soon as possible. He walked up the stairs and finally walked down the hall.

Then he saw Pepper standing in the middle of the hallway; a doctor was speaking to her. He slowed down; out of range of hearing the conversation when he saw the doctor put a hand on Pepper's should and nodded as he spoke. Pepper had her arms crossed tightly as if she were holding herself. She refused to look up until the doctor patted her arm before leaving. _Oh no. _Steve thought before walking a bit faster.

By the time the doctor walked away, Steve had walked up.

"…Pepper?" He started. Her head came up and she quickly wiped the rims of her eyes before looking to him. He looked around. "What happened?" He asked. He felt himself begin to feel insecure and had a feeling about the news she was about to give.

"Steve, Kate's in a coma" Pepper whispers. It seemed as every sound in the fall died down as he understood what she had said. Steve's lips parted as if he was about to speak before he walked in the room; seeing Kate as he left her; but with several more machines around her.

"No, wait- she- she was doing fine when I left-"

"They don't know how or why. She was doing better before, but something went wrong." Pepper says; walking in. He was quiet for a moment; looking back over at Kate. He clenched his jaw; looking down and taking in a few breaths; getting a handle on his emotions.

"She'll wake up though right?" He looked back at Pepper and asked; looked almost scared to hear her response. Pepper bit her bottom lip; blinking a few times as if she couldn't stand to tell him. It was quiet for what felt like minutes before she responded.

"They don't think she will... ever..." She whispers and shook her head only slightly. For almost a minute the only sound that could be heard was the faint beeping of Kate's lifeline. He finally let out shaky breath before sinking into his chair left of the bed; putting his hands over his face, as if to hide it. Taking his hands away he looked back over at Kate. He soon began to shake his head.

"No... No, no! That's not how it was supposed to end… she was supposed to-" His voice died out and became brittle before he finished his sentence.

Pepper could see him blinking several times to keep his eyes from watering as he leaned to the left; resting his head on his hand. Pepper walked over putting a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner.

"I'm so sorry, Steve." She spoke quietly. He put his hands through his hair again before covering his face. She could feel his shoulder shaking only slightly under her hand before she pulled a chair over to the right of his and sat down; once more putting a comforting hand around his shoulder.

~0~

**A few hours later...**

"Sam! It's for you!" Sam's mother called down the hall. Sam walked out of her room and into the living room; over to the door. Her mom walked out of the room and into the kitchen.

Coming into view of the doorway Sam saw Pepper.

"Hey." Sam greeted; hoping to stay positive. But as she saw Pepper's face she could tell it wasn't good. She has blood shot eyes and looked very tired and unfortunately; upset. Sam felt her very small smile drop and she let took in a shaky breath. "What is it?" She whispered.

"Sam..." She started. "Kate fell into a coma this morning." Pepper says; holding her small tote-like bag in her hands tightly in front of her. Sam put a hand over her mouth; closing her eyes before letting herself lean up against the front door. "Steve wanted to tell you but he didn't want to leave Kate there." She says. Sam nods before rubbing her nose; sniffing in a breath and crossing her arms. She nodded only slightly.

"Are you going there now?" Sam asked. Pepper nodded. Sam nodded in reply before grabbing her purse on the arm chair next to the door and walking out; closing the door behind her.

~0~

Sam followed Pepper down the hall before they got a few feet from the door when Pepper slowed to a stop.

"Do you wanna be alone with her for a little while?" She asked. Pepper knew Steve wouldn't talk to anyone for a while; he was still trying to convince himself of what had happened.

Sam hesitated before nodding. Pepper gave her a small smile before putting a hand on her shoulder. Sam bit her lip before moving in for a hug. They pulled out seconds later and Pepper gave her a nod before walking back the way they came.

Sam slowly walked into room 107; seeing Steve sitting in the chair left of the bed. She walked into the room; going to the right side of the bed before sitting down; eyeing Kate.

She looked the same; sleeping. The faint beeping of the lifeline was all that could be heard again in the room as no one spoke a word.

~0~

Pepper walked onto the communal floor of Stark Tower; seeing that everyone happened to be in the room. Thor, Jane, Darcy, Tony, Bruce, Clint, and Natasha were in the room.

Jane was the first to stand up and walk over.

"Hey, how is she?" She asked; tucking a strand of hair behind her ear in an anxious manner. Pepper hesitated before taking a deep breath. Everyone was looking over now.

"Kate's in a coma." She says quietly. "And- they don't think she'll wake up from it." Pepper; looks at the floor.

"She's what?!" Tony half yelled.

"But she was doing fine!" Clint protested with a serious face.

"She's gonna be ok right?" Darcy asked; looking disappointed and upset.

"She was doing fine, but the doctors said something was wrong, that she had lost too much blood and enough wasn't getting to her brain." Pepper says; trying to keep herself together.

"Oh Pepper-..." Jane cuts herself off; pulling Pepper into a hug.

~0~

**The Next Morning...**

Sam opened her eyes. Rays of light were shining through the blinds in the room and it was as quiet as the night before. She sat up before letting her eyes trail over Kate again.

She didn't know what to think. She just got her best friend back, and just as fast; lost her again.

Getting out of her chair, she noticed Steve wasn't in the room. Her eyebrows furrowed for a split seconds before he walked into the room.

"Oh, I thought you left" she said with some relief. He shook his head.

"No, I was just... walking around." His voice grew quieter as he spoke. She nodded; about to sit back down. "There's breakfast, down the hall, if you're hungry." He says; sitting back down. As he was speaking a nurse had walked into the room and was doing the hourly check of Kate's vitals and of the other medical equipment around her.

"Oh ok" Sam was famished. She hadn't eaten since breakfast the day before. She walked toward the door when Steve sat back down. "...Hey Steve?" She asked; making him turn to his right. "Do you wanna come?" She asked quietly. For some reason she didn't want to be alone; trying to cope with Kate was making her feel vulnerable to her emotions.

After a few seconds of looking over at Kate the nurse looked over and smiled.

"Don't worry; I'll keep an eye on her." She said warmly. He hesitated before finally nodding and getting up to go with Sam.

**THE BIG ANNOUNCMENT! **

**Ok! So a friend of mine at school dared me to ask you this. I kinda feel bad, but if I don't do this I have to give her $10. Don't judge me, I can't lose this bet! She's my best friend so this bet is hard core! XD**

**Ok! The bet is: She wants me to ask you all to review. You don't have to say anything big, "just cool" chapter, or "can't wait for the next one" or something like that! So please everyone who reads the chapter, review! **

**THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! XD **

**And so so so sorry about this chapter everyone! I promise you all won't be disappointed! If you read the note at the beginning of chapter one, (it was revised) then you know that the story is nowhere near being over yet! **


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

**Next chapter for you everyone! So sorry about this weekend! My computer crashed and I lost the chapters that I wrote! Figures right? XD So I typed this up as quick as I could for you! Again, sorry for the inconvenience! **

**And I won the bet! Yeah! Thank you all so much! And thank you **_**dancer2813! **_**I fixed those paragraphs that were repeated! :) **

Pepper walked into room 107 with Sam. It had been a couple days since Kate fell into the coma. Everyone had been hit hard by it. The day before everyone was at the hospital, but since the room wasn't big enough to house everyone they decided on taking shifts for seeing her.

Sam sat down in "Steve's chair" while Pepper was standing at the foot of the bed. After a few minutes of silence footsteps were heard as Steve walked into the room. Pepper sighed before looking at him. She was hoping he had left or something, but apparently not.

"Come on Steve, you should go out and do something for yourself." Pepper says quietly. He looks at her but chooses not to respond; leaning against the spare bed to the left of Kate's and slightly behind Sam.

"Excuse me, Miss Potts?" A nurse poked her head in the room. "Doctor Blake would like to speak with you." She says with a smile before Pepper nodded and walked out.

After a few seconds Sam looked to the right behind her at Steve.

"Where were you?" She asked. She was hoping he had been out; maybe taking a walk or doing something for himself for once.

"Just signing some paperwork." He says; crossing his arms. She felt a stab of disappointment at the reason for his departure, but nods. She looked back over at Kate.

"You know, Steve..." Sam started; not looking over at him. "I've known Kate for as long as I can remember... And if it's one thing I know about her..." She closed her eyes for a second; not sure it she could get the words out. "...she would want you to move on..." She says. She could hear him push himself off the bed; he walked around to the other side and sat down in the chair she usually sits in.

"You know I can't do that Sam." He says. Sam shakes her head.

"Well then what do you plan to do? Come here every day for the rest of your life?" She could barely keep her voice above a whisper. "Kate may not wake up." It was hard for her to say, but she knew it needed to be said. "...So you need to be prepared to move on." Sam finishes; her voice growing brittle as she spoke. She knew that she would need to follow her own words later on.

And if things couldn't get any better; the song _Gone gone gone _by Phillip Phillips was playing; the line _"Baby I'm not moving on, I'll love ya long after you're gone"_ played quietly in the background.

Steve only looked at her for a few more seconds before looking back at Kate. He knew deep down she was right, but he didn't want to listen to that part of him.

~0~

**1 YEAR AGO…**

_I opened my eyes; feeling the truck stop. Ok, I need to be quick. I was kidnapped by these two men. I don't know why, but it couldn't have been better timed. My cheeks still had dry tears on them. My brother is gone. That was all I could think about on the way over. And now my parents have lost me too. _

_I opened my eyes a little; seeing someone open the truck back doors and I closed my eyes again. _

_"Help me get her out" I heard one guy say. I heard the cage door unlock and it opened. I felt hands wrap around my ankles and drag me out. As soon as I was out I shifted into wolf form and leaped at the other guy that had been driving. I jumped onto his chest; making him fall back before leaping off him and taking off in the first direction I saw._

_I was in a caged area; about an acre around. Men jumped out from behind rumble and other trash debris and corner me off._

_I growled with rage; eyeing the growing numbers of men. _

_They all ran at me and I felt them overwhelm me. I growled a warning but they pinned me to the ground before one kicked me in the stomach; making my whine in pain before I shifted back. _

_"Looks like there's more to this one than meets the eye fellas." One of the men that had been driving said. The others laughed before I was dragged toward the main door of a giant warehouse. I kicked and screamed but none of it mattered as I got my last look of the outside world before the doors closed behind me. _

_Several men dragged me down a hallway. I managed to yank my wrist from one of their hands and I punched one of the men square in the face._

"_Son of bitch!" He yelled; holding his nose before the other men put me on my feet and pulled my hands behind my back; tying them together. I pulled at the restraint but it didn't budge. _

"_Let go!" I screamed. But of course, it wasn't like they were going to listen to me. I kicked out with my feet but I wasn't able to do much damage as we came to a room and the opened the door before throwing me in. _

_I hit the cement ground before rolling a few feet. One of the men came in and I felt them cut the restraints off; slicing my arm a bit to. I winched and whimpered slightly; rubbing my arm before they laughed and left; slamming the door behind them and locking it. _

_I was breathing heavy as my eyes fearfully trailed over the room. It was dark and I could barely see my hand in front of my face._

"_Psst" I flinch at the sudden sound. I felt goosebumps as I looked around. _

"_He-Hello?" I stuttered a bit; looking around some more. My eyes began to adjust to my surroundings when I could make out several figures standing in front of me. I swallowed when finally I could see them clearly._

"_You're new." The one closest to me states. I manage to nod. He had black hair and despite how he looked he was pretty well built; broad shoulders, and looked a bit older than me. _

"_I'm Mark," He had leaned out and held out his hand. I slowly take it and he pulls me upright. "You ok?" I hesitate before nodding. "They usually don't hurt ya too much on the first day." He sighs. I furrow my eyebrows. "What's your name?" _

"_Kate," I trailed off. "What is this place?" I ask. _

"_Hard to explain, but all we know is that everyone here isn't…. normal," He trailed off before finishing. I flinch before nodding. He clenched his fist before he opened it and a ball of light emerged. My eyes widened with curiosity, as I stared at the small flame in his hand. "Yeah, we all have our own abilities." He says with a shrug. _

_This was interesting. I didn't know there were other people like me. Besides the Avengers, but that doesn't count. They saved the world and they have a purpose. _

"_Here let me introduce everyone," He turns to a girl behind him. "This is Stella." He gestures to him. She gave me a small smile. _

"_Hey" She gave me a small wave. I smiled. Maybe if I make some friends we can find a way to work together to escape. Mark nodded to her and she gave a nod in return. She held out a hand and a snowflake formed in her palm. _

_My mouth was open in awe; it seemed the fact that I was kidnapped had left for a few moments. She then flicked her wrist up and snow flurries blew into the air. _

"_Whoa…" I breathed. _

"_Yeah I know," She gives a small smile. "Mark is my brother." She chuckles a bit. "Seems a bit weird right?" I smirk. Fire and Ice. _

_~0~_

_Mark had introduced me to everyone else; they seemed like a good group of people. I was the second youngest. A boy named Peter was 10; I was 14. He was able to use gravity to move things around. Apparently people would tease him, saying he could use the force; like in Star Wars._

"_Now there are a few things you need to know about this place," Mark was saying to me. I nod after a few seconds. "These people aren't afraid to hurt you. They will torture you, and they might even kill you here." He says. I swallow but nod. "There isn't a good chance of any of us getting out. I nod before the door suddenly opened. _

_Three men walked in and my eyes widened as they pointed at me. I was lifted from my feet and saw several men pointing guns in the others' direction. They dragged me out of the room and shut the door behind us._

…

"_You should have told her the truth, Mark." Stella turned to her brother as the door closed. He looked at her. "None of us are getting out of here." She mumbles; looking away._

"_Well one of us needs to think that there's hope." Mark replies. _


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

**Hey everyone, so I know this story is kinda boring, I won't deny it. But to those who still read this, hope you enjoy **

_I watched as hallway after hallway passed by. They just took me out of the room that had what I would consider, my newly found friends in it. We finally got to a door and they opened it before I was shoved in. I gasped quietly as I hit the floor; scrapping my elbows on the rough ground. I heard the door shut and lock behind me. _

"_Damn it," I mutter; inspecting my elbows that had now started bleeding. I looked around the room. It was dimly lit and pretty big. I would estimate about as big as a school cafeteria. _

_I pushed myself to my feet and cautiously looked around. _

"_Kate Sanders" A voice boomed overhead. I furrowed my eyebrows before looking around the room. "Over here, deary!" The voice sung. I glared in the other direction and I could see a big window about 10 feet in front of me. Three men were standing inside and one was leaning on the table behind the glass; holding a mic. _

_What the hell is this?! _

"_Ok, here's how this is gonna work sunshine," He trails off; looking at a paper. "You're gonna spill all those little secrets about your ability and then we'll be best buds, got it?" He looks up at me. I just glare at him. _

_You. Are. So. Dead._

"…_Ok then" He looks to the guy next to him. Wait-… I know them! They were the men driving the van that kidnapped me! The guy at the mic was Allen. They man next to him was the other guy that was in the passenger seat of the van at the time. _

"_What do you think Jack? Should we give her a warm welcome?" He grins. I felt a glare spread across my face. Well at least I know their names now so I can hunt them down when I get out of this hellhole. _

_I turned as the door opened and seven men walked in. I swallowed anxiously. Oh no. I backed up a few feet; eyeing them as the men began to spread out. I took on more cautious step back and took a deep breath. _

_I can't let them do this. If I lose control no one will be safe. _

_I looked around the room; then up at the ceiling. There were catwalks up top. If I can just get up there, I can buy myself some time to get out of here. _

_Then it hit me. What about Mark? And Stella, and Peter, and Bethany, and Ryan, and Trish? I can't just leave them. _

_I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my back and I yelped; turning and seeing a guy back with a syringe in his hand. My head was suddenly on fire and everything became blurry. I swallowed a breath; turning my head from side to side before shaking it. _

_What the hell?_

"_Whadu-… What d-did you do…" I slurred out; my vision getting fuzzy. I heard a faint whistle and suddenly I was hit with a hard force. I fell onto my back and felt someone kick me in the ribs; causing me to cry out in pain. I felt some of my vision come back and I looked around; seeing several men crowding me. I was pulled to my feet before my head was flung to the side as someone punched me. I hit the wall behind me and only had a few seconds to get a breath in before one guy walked up and kneed me in the stomach; making me hunch over in pain; almost throwing up. I fell to my knees; clutching my chest and trying to get air back into my lungs. _

"_Ready to cooperate yet?" I heard the voice over the mic and I felt rage surging through. _

_Suddenly I felt my eyes flash and my fists clenched. Oh no. I slowly looked back up at the men in front of me and I felt a growl rumble in my throat. I saw there expressions change once I felt the burning sensations sprint through my veins. I was shifting. _

_Instead of yelling, I roaring in pain as I finally competed my shift and I landed on four paws; seeing the black and white strips going up my legs. I was a white tiger. That was new for me. _

_I growled at the men in front of me; my ears were pinned back on my head and I had a deadly snarl on my face. My eyes trailed over the men before I saw one reach for his gun. _

_I let out a roar before lunging at him; raping my front paws around him; my claws digging into his back before we fit the ground. I turned; getting off of him before I batted at the other men around me with a roar. _

_I need to get up to the catwalks! I looked up at the ceiling; thinking about how I should get out of this mess. I've never shifted this long before, not when I'm awake that is. My parent's always said I shifted in my sleep for hours. _

_I was about to shift back when I was suddenly hit in the side with some kind of dart. I hissed; then looked to my side; a small dart was stuck in my skin. _

_I had only a few seconds to realize I was being sedated before it went black._

_~0~_

**2 days later….**

_"Move it!" The man's voice echoed in my ears as he pushed me and several other people down the hallway. I looked over at Mark as we were being taken to an unknown location. I was hoping we were just being moved to new cells. But that probably wasn't it. _

_Maybe I should give you a heads up one what happened a few days ago. So Mark told me that every person that comes here has to "show off" their ability. Or else you get beat up. He told me that not everyone has to be sedated which is good apparently. Mark told me that there is a good chance of me escaping if they had to sedate me for that reason. _

_But then Stella told me that that could also be a bad thing. She says they always find a way to beat you. That every second I waste fighting them it's just giving them more knowledge of how to beat me. _

_We walked into another room and I could see everyone nodding to each other. Our plan was about to go into action. I closed my eyes; counting down in my head._

_Three_

_Two_

_One_

_"Now!" Mark yelled and turned; shooting fire form his hands at several men. I shifted in a black leopard and lunged at the closest person to me. Peter was using his ability to pull guns from their grips and Bethany used her ability to make herself invisible to get the men when they weren't looking. _

_I bit down on one guys vest and rammed him against the wall; knocking him out before I grabbed one guy by the sleeve of his shirt; shaking him wildly before throwing him to the ground. _

_I always got sick at the sight of blood, not to mention the taste of it. _

_Mark got the last guy before turning back to us._

_"Let's move!" He orders. I gave a nod; running down the hall after them. _

_We went around a few bends before coming to a door. Mark grabbed the handle; his hand and the knob became the color of molten lava before he let go; kicking the door down. We all ran into the room; seeing the communication center. _

_I was panting a bit, but not too bad as Mark and Peter walked up to the computers and technology. Peter was also a computer whiz. He was really smart from what I've heard. _

_Peter and Mark walked over to the computers and started to get to work. Our plan wasn't to escape, only to get knowledge of how to get out so we could get everyone else out when the time was right. _

_Only seconds later Peter pulled the flash drive he had out of the computer. "Done," He grinned before Mark moved us out of the room. We stopped dead in our tracks; seeing Allen and Jack with several men behind them. Allen sighed before speaking up. _

"_Well well well…."He grins. "Looks like we have a problem here fellas" _


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

**Next chapter for ya everyone! Some time goes by in Kate's flashbacks, just a heads up. **

**PRESENT DAY….**

It was late; about 10:00pm and Steve was sitting in that chair left of Kate's bed. Sam's parents came to get her a few hours ago, and Pepper had to run home and finish some of things for work.

He continued to look her over; waiting for her to just open those big blue eyes. But she didn't move. He wondered if she could hear what was going on; all those conversations Sam would have with her when he was supposed to be walking around outside the hospital grounds; when really he was just waiting outside Kate's room.

Steve took a deep breath; adjusting himself in his chair and putting a hand through his hair. He looked over at Kate again. He couldn't stop thinking about what Sam said. He knew that she was right, and that he needed to accept what had happened.

Fury had given him a mission. He was to go with Natasha and Clint to track down Kate's kidnappers who were still on the move. These people would just keep hurting more kids if they weren't stopped. He knew that Kate would be yelling at him to get the hell out of the chair and go save someone. He smiled to himself a bit. But then again, he didn't want to just leave her here; alone.

He grabbed her hand before taking in a deep breath.

"I'm sorry" He whispered. The room was dead silent; besides from the faint beeping of the monitor to her right. "I'm going to make this right." He looked at his lap and gave a very small nod to himself, before looking back up at her. He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head before standing up. Steve walked to the door and looked in one more time before leaving.

~0~

**FLASHBACK…**

_It had been at least a few weeks since we were caught by Allen and Jack. We each got lashed with a whip twenty times. It was horrible. I couldn't look when they hurt Peter. He hasn't said a word since then. I know I shouldn't, but I feel guilty. _

_I continued to scratch the rock in my hand against the cement floor. Trish was sitting across from me. We were now in separate cells from the others. I had become good friends with Trish. We had a lot in common. I considered her my best friend now. "What was your family like?" She spoke up; her English accent showing. I scratched one more line into the floor before looking up at her. I shrug after a few seconds._

"_I guess just like any other family." I say; clearing my throat. "My mom is OCD, she loves cleaning the house and although she loves to cook she is horrible at it." I smirk. "And my dad is a bit quiet; loves to sit in the arm chair in the corner of the living room by the fire and read." I smile; remembering. "Both my parents were scientists; loved bringing their work home with them every night." I leaned my head back against the cold stone wall. "And my brother is…-" I hesitate. "-Was… a soldier in the Army." I blink my eyes a few times; taking a deep breath. _

"_I'm sorry" Trish whispered. I shake my head. _

"_Don't be," I gave a small smile. "Let's talk about other stuff. What's your family like?" I sat up and brought my knees to my chest. She smirks and shrugs._

"_Well, my dad is a retired baseball player; loves cooking and is pretty good at it." We both chuckled. "And my mom left when I was little, so…" She trails off. _

"_I'm sorry, that must be hard." I give an apologetic look. She shrugs._

"_I don't remember her very well anyway." She says. I nod in reply; fiddling with the rock in my hand. _

~0~

**A MONTH LATER… (Still a flashback) **

_There was a quote that my dad always told me when I was little: "A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself." I don't know what he ever meant by it, or why he told it to me. But it wasn't until just now that I realized what it meant. _

…

_My head hit the hard ground with a sickening thud. I groaned before rolling over and got kicked in the stomach. I cried out before spitting out blood. I suddenly felt the air leave my lungs and a hand rapped around my neck as he lifted me up and pushed me into the wall. _

"_You are going to pay for what you've caused me." Allen growled in my ear. _

_I helped Peter escape. We both managed to slip between several guards and I helped him get into a vent. I made sure he got out, but before I knew it, I got caught. _

_These people take us very seriously; almost like trophies. I don't know why they want us, or what they plan to do. But what I do know is that if we don't get out of here soon, they'll kill us before we have the chance. _

_I struggled for breath before he kneed me in the chest and threw me to the ground. I coughed and took in a raspy breath; turning onto my back. He threw a punch and I managed to just barely block it before I pushed myself up and crawling across the floor. I suddenly felt a foot come down on my back and I cried out before being pushed to the floor. It felt like minutes later when the foot was off my back and I turned over._

_Allen pulled a gun off his belt and aimed it down at me._

"_It's a pity-. " He took in a few breaths; I could see beads of sweat on his face. "And to think I was going to rethink my choice of shipping you off to the second location…" He trails off. I had only a few seconds to realize what he said before he pulled the trigger. I cringed as the shot echoed, but I never felt anything. I looked up in time to see a portal disappear. _

_Trish! _

_I looked to my right and saw another portal open up slightly above Allen but to his left. Seconds later Trish jumped out of her portal and knocked Allen to the ground. I pushed myself farther back with the palms of my hands til I was against the wall._

_Trish pushed herself to her feet and so did Allen who was about 15 feet away. He growled before running toward us. She opened up another portal and Allen ran through it and through the other half of the portal that was about 100yrds away on the other side of the huge room we were in. Trish turned to me._

"_Kate! Run!" She yelled. I was still in shock but I managed to get up and run toward the door when I turned though, I saw Jack. _

_He grinned at me before pulling a gun. I growled before feeling my form shift. I landed on all fours, seeing I had shifted into a wolf. I felt a growl escape my mouth before I lunged at him; biting down on the hand containing his gun. _

_He yelled in pain before grabbing a handful of my hair and yanking on it. But I didn't budge. I sank my teeth deeper into his skin before shaking my head wildly and hearing his wrist snap. _

"_Bitch!" He cried out; holding his hand to his chest. I growled at him; knowing he was done. I jumped at him and he collided with the wall and crumpled to the floor; knocked out. _

"_Kate!" I heard my voice and turned in time to see Trish running in front of me and about to open a portal. But as I heard the gunshot I honestly had no idea that I just lost my best friend. She was still for a few moments before I saw her hands drop to her sides and the portals in the room disappeared. _

_She turned around to me. I saw her shirt quickly turning from grey to a scarlet red. I suddenly felt vulnerable. _

_I turned to see Allen grinning from the other side of the room; lowering his gun. My breathing sped up and I quickly shifted back into human form and caught Trish in my arms before falling to the floor. _

"_No! Trish please-" She swallowed a breath and I could see her eyes trailing over the ceiling and then at me. I felt tears streaming down my face. I didn't know what to do; I had no experience with anything like this! _

_She swallowed several breaths; gasping for air. I coughed a sob; feeling helpless. All I could do was watch. She took in a raspy breath._

"_G-Get them out-… Get them out Kate" She coughed. I nodded._

"_I promise Trish" I was crying now. She took in another breath before her chest stopped moving; her eyes stared into nothingness. I was crying uncontrollably now. I couldn't hold it in. _

_It was now that I realized; what it meant to be a hero. _

**Hope you liked :) I can assure you all, Kate's story isn't over yet, and so that means have a little faith! :) Ii have a question for you all:**

**Who loves Star Wars?**

**I sure know that I do! So if you do, put it in your review cause it will have to do with upcoming chapters! :) **


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

**New Chapter! And to **_**Juliet Gray, **_**I love getting your ideas, they are not stupid! XD I will absolutely keep them in mind when I continue to write this! And remember everyone, that there is a likely chance of the story continuing through Captain America 2 later on, so keep that in mind! ;) **

Pepper was preparing dinner when Sam walked out of the elevator and onto the communal floor. She turned and smiled. "Hey Sam" She sighed; continuing to stir the pot of chilly.

"Hi Pepper" Sam said; walking into the kitchen. She leaned against the counter for a few more seconds. "Hey, want me to put together a salad?" She pushed off the counter; walking for the cabinet to get the supplies needed. Pepper chuckled.

"No Sam, you don't ha-"

"I want to!" She smiled. "My mom just showed me all her cooking secrets and I found the one for making kickass Greek Salad." She grins. Pepper chuckles.

"Alright then." She sighs; continuing to stir the chilly. It had been quite a while since Kate fell into her coma. Days. Weeks. Months. Everyone had lost count. They all still went to see her from time to time, but they all knew they would have to move on at some point.

Steve hadn't seen her since he left on the mission to track down the kidnappers with Natasha and Clint. They had found out enough information to determine that these people don't believe in the fact that this world contains people with gifts. They think that these people are below everyone else and should be punished and treated pretty much like slaves; like with what happened to Kate and the other people she knew at the warehouse.

Pepper took the spoon from the pot and put the lid over the vat of chilly. Sam was pulling the different spices and other ingredients for the salad and putting them on the counter.

The elevator opened again and Tony and Bruce walked out.

"Hey guys, dinner is gonna be ready any minute now!" Pepper called over. Bruce nodded; sitting down at the counter while Tony grabbed a beer; taking a seat at the counter as well.

"Is the meal almost done being prepared?" A voice said as Thor walked out of the stairwell. Pepper chuckled to herself before nodding. "Need any help Pepper?" Jane walked towards them. She glanced over as her brunette friend walked up to her.

"Actually Jane, I think I could use some help with getting the bread out of the oven" She smiled; carrying the chilly pot to the other counter.

~0~

"I locked down the perimeter. We should be good to go." Clit said; kneeling down next to Natasha as they were on the roof of a building. She nodded before holding up her wrist com.

"Rogers you copy that?" She looked around.

"Yeah I heard it" His voice sounded through her com.

"How much longer til your set?" She looked behind her.

"I need a minute here Natasha!" He yells into his com. They both peak over the side; seeing him running from at least a dozen men.

"Ok, go" Natasha pushed Clint behind her. He ran over to the side of the building; taking an arrow off his back and aiming for the arch above the road below. He watched as Steve ran under and the men following him ran under the arch after him.

"I got them" Clint smirked as he let the arrow lose. It hit the arch and exploded; the debris falling onto the men.

A few minutes later Steve walked out of the building stairwell and onto the roof. He walked over to where Natasha and Clint were.

"All targets acquired?" He asked; kneeling down. He was wearing a new suit. Everyone's suits had been pretty much updated. SHIELD had this new Stealth suit for Rogers. And Natasha and Clint had new suits as well.

"Yeah, should be walking out that door over there any minute now." Natasha mutters; peeking through the peep hole of a sniper rifle she was holding. Steve nodded.

"This has to be the location." Clint mumbles to himself. It had been months since they left New York. They had been all over the world; tracking these people down. But by the looks of it; Kate had killed the man in charge; Allen. So now they had to find who was behind everything else. Right now they were in the City of Brazil.

"There!" Natasha whispered. She looked through the scope of the sniper and saw a man walk out of the building.

"So this is a sedater correct?" Steve questioned. Natasha nodded.

"Indeed it is." She smirked before pulling the trigger.

~0~

Their latest victim to Natasha's sniper had woken a few minutes ago. Steve shoved the guy and he went several feet before coming in contact with the payment.

"Who do you work for?" He asked; more in a demanding tone. The man pushed himself up before backing up.

"I don't understand-"

"What were you doing in that building with Jack Anderson?" He demanded; getting a bit inpatient. The guy swallowed before realizing he was cut off; Natasha and Clint blocking off his other exits.

"You think you can make me talk?" He chuckled. Steve let out a breath before nodding to Natasha. She rolled her eyes in annoyance before kicking his legs out from under him and making his head hit the payment; knocking him out.

"You could have given him more time to talk ya no" Natasha smirks. Steve doesn't respond; walking towards were the SHIELD team was. Several agents came out of surrounding buildings; detaining the guy that Natasha just knocked out and storming the building that Jack Anderson was in; the guy that had worked with Allen.

Seconds later a helicopter lifted off the top of the building and few towards the nearby mountains.

"And there he goes _again" _Clint groans. This guy had gotten away from them at least a dozen times. Steve huffed before continuing his walk towards the quinjet.

Next stop: Sydney, Australia

~0~

"Remember Tony, you said you would watch Kate tomorrow" Pepper reminds him. He nods; putting a spoonful of chilly into his mouth. Pepper had to leave for a business trip so it was Tony who actually volunteered. She could tell he wanted to go see her; but he didn't want people making a big deal out of it.

"So how was everyone's day?" Jane asked; trying to lighten the mood.

"Well, if it makes anyone feel better I'm the assistant manager of the bakery now" Sam smirks.

"That's amazing Sam!" Pepper says in her usual chipper tone. Sam laughs and rolls her eyes.

"So when are our fellow agents of SHIELD returning?" Thor asked. Everyone hesitated before responding.

"Hopefully soon" Pepper sighs. She knew that the reason for their departure was somewhat of a burden, and that it also very well could be distracting for their missions.

~0~

**The Next day…**

Tony walked into room 107 and saw Kate in bed. He sat down in the chair left of the bed that had originally been Steve's chair; and leaned on his fist. He let out a sigh before looking around the room. It was pretty plan. He narrowed his eyes before pulling his phone out and dialing Pepper.

"_Honey what is it?_" Pepper said.

"Well isn't it good to hear your voice to, where are you." He asked. She chuckled.

"_The airport in France, why?_" She questioned.

"I need you to find a teddy bear." He says. He could practically see her confused expression through the phone.

"_A stuffed teddy bear?_"

"No, a real one. Of course a stuffed one!" He says. Pepper laughs on the other side of the phone. "This room is vacant and depressing." He adds.

"_Ok, I'll get her a teddy bear._" Pepper says; amused, knowing he wanted her to really just get Kate a present. Tony nods. "_Love you!" _She laughs.

"Yeah, love you too Pep" He then hangs up the phone; putting it back in his pocket. There was a knock at the door and he looked over.

"Excuse me Mr. Stark we need you to sign some paperwork." The nurse says. Since back when Kate was adopted, everyone had adopted her technically, except Steve was her guardian. So Tony and everyone else at the Tower could sign paperwork and such. He got up and left the room.

What he didn't catch though…. Was Kate's eyes fluttering just slightly.


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

**I know you're all gonna like this! *squeals*:D**

It was bright. Like- really bright. I feel my eyelids crack open just a bit and I immediately close them again. Wait-…. Did I die? Am I dead? Who turned the light on?-... Wait, hold that thought- Wasn't I shot?

I take a moment to open my eyes all the way; seeing I was in a bed; and it smelled weird. I guess I'm in the hospital. I look around the room; seeing no one in. Maybe this is a weird dream or something.

I shift and a pain shot through my chest. Nope, definitely not dead! I wince, looking down; I was wearing one of those hospital gown things. I take a minute to get a feeling for my limbs and finally lift my hand; lightly touching where it hurt the most; feeling a bandage.

So I really was shot... Well then.

I felt my eyes trail over the room when I saw sunglasses on the counter. I narrowed my eyes; trying to pinpoint where I had seen those before. Wait! They were Tony's!

I swallowed before closing my eyes again. I feel like I should be tired but I'm not. I move a bit and feel the sharp pain shooting up my body. I hiss under my breath; biting my lip. I took a moment to catch my breath again before moving a bit more.

I look up suddenly when I heard footsteps coming toward the door. Tony walked in and looked up from his cup of coffee; seeing me. Seconds later he dropped his cup and it was on the floor. I flinched; looking a bit startled for a moment. I take a deep breath; clearing my throat.

"Hi" I manage to get out. In that split second he was next to the bed and he put the back of his hand to my forehead. I went cross-eyed; looking at his hand in confusion.

"You're fevers broke." He says more to himself. I raise an eyebrow. As if it couldn't get any better several doctors were in the room seconds later; checking my vitals and other stuff.

What is going on? And why am I hooked up to so many machines. This is so weird.

"How do you feel kid?" Tony asked; sitting down in a chair to my right. I shrug; looking over at him.

"Like I was hit by a bus." I sigh. He smirks, but then gets back to being serious. I dropped my smile. What the hell, he is never serious.

"So Kate…. What do you remember?" He asked slowly. I raise an eyebrow. Is he drunk or something!? He never uses my name.

I strain my memory; trying to remember. What began to scare me was that at first I couldn't remember. I furrow my eyebrows when suddenly it all came back to me.

"I remember jumping in front of a bullet." I chuckle; then wince; rubbing my stomach gently. He nods after a few seconds; then jumps, taking his phone out of his pocket.

"I need to get Steve on a flight back here before he hurts me." He mumbles. I smile before thinking about what he just said.

"Flight? Where is he?" I ask. Tony was dialing when he stopped and hesitated.

"He's been in tracking down these people from the warehouse with Natasha and Clint since you-…" He stops himself. I furrow my eyebrows.

"Since I what?" I ask; hesitantly.

"Kate, you've been in a coma for about 5 months." He says. I stared at him for a good long minute before letting out a breath.

... A coma?...me? But, it couldn't have been that bad. It didn't even hurt that bad at the time; how could it have come to this?

"Me?" I whisper. He nods.

"They didn't think you were going to wake up." He says; adjusting himself in his chair. I nod after a few seconds.

"5 months…" I repeat. He nods. It was quiet for a few moments before he shook his head and picked up the phone again.

"I need to call them now; I'm guessing he's going to want to see you." He smirks. I nod and smile; leaning my head back.

~0~

It was dark and Natasha, Clint, Steve, and two other SHIELD agents who were flying the quinjet, were on their way to Australia. They were all still dirty and roughed up from the last mission in the City of Brazil. Suddenly there was the sound of static as the speakers were being override.

"How's my favorite trio of Agents?" It was Tony's voice. Natasha rolled her eyes and Clint chuckled.

"What do you want Stark?" Steve asked; not sounding too pleased that Tony hacked the system again.

"Well isn't nice to hear your voice to Cap'n."

"Tony, get off the line." Steve says sternly.

"Roger that, but I think you might want to change your flight plans Rogers, cause I got a certain someone at the hospital here who wants to see ya." He says in a slightly teasing tone. Everyone looked back at Steve for a moment. He opened his mouth about to speak when nothing came out.

~0~

**2 HOURS LATER…**

I was sitting in bed; fiddling with a rubix cube. I had never had any talent with things, but it was all the doctors could find in the hospital. There wasn't anything good on the TV either… whoop.

"I wanna get up." I groaned; looking over at Tony. He had just finished calling everyone he possibly could about me being awake, and he even contacted Fury to get a hold of Thor. Except Sam, he didn't call her because I wanted to surprise her myself.

"Can she do that?" He asked the Nurse. She looked up from what she was doing and narrowed her eyes before biting her lip.

"Well-" She seemed a bit hesitant. Then she smiled. "Oh who am I kidding, I guess a few minutes out of bed won't hurt." She chuckles. Tony nods before turning to me.

"Now-" He starts. "Let's see if we can't get you on your feet before Spangles gets back."

"Is that a challenge?" I grin. He shrugs. I smile before pulling the covers back and slowly swinging my feet over.

Ok, here we go. First time being on my feet in almost half a year.

I take a deep breath before letting my feet touch the ground. I hesitate before putting weight on one foot. I feel that god damn shooting pain again and I curse under my breath.

"Take your time though." Tony smirks. I chuckle and nod; trying again. This time I managed to put my full weight on my feet. I took a few deep breaths before pushing off the bed. I feel my stomach twist funny and I wobble on my feet; losing my balance. Tony steadies me and allows me to take a couple steps.

After a minute or two of getting my balance I finally managed to walk out into the hall without help. I had a smile plastered to my face the whole time as I walked down the hall.

"Don't go too far." Tony says playfully. I turn back to him.

"It feels weird." I laugh; making a face. He smirks before he looked at something else; his expression changing. I raise an eyebrow.

"What?" I ask. I turn around and see what he looking at. Steve was about 20 feet away staring at me; looking-... Well, a mixture of shock and relief I guess you could say.

I feel my face go blank as I continue to look at him, and then furrow my eyebrows. What was he wearing? It was some kind of navy blue suit. At least that's what it looked like, covered in a ton of dirt and ash. He hadn't even taken the helmet off yet.

He takes a few steps forward then starts to walk toward me. I go a few steps.

"Hey, long time no se-" he immediately pulled me into a hug before I could finish. I make a pained face.

Yeah- ok, Ow. Little too strong on the hug there, Steve. I hug him back for a moment.

"Hey uh, Steve?" I start. "I uh, can't breathe." I manage to squeak out. He loses the death grip a little and I take in a quick breath.

"I love you too." He says quietly. I feel my breath catch; I swallow. Did he just say that? – Wait, did I say that!?... Oh yeah I did! I thought in the heat of the moment he would have forgotten that I said that. I smile and he pulls out of the hug; smiling at me. I bit my lip; smiling back. "But, you-…. Are so grounded!" He finishes; getting serious – I think. It was hard to tell since he didn't take his helmet off. I feel my face drop. Ok then….

"Wha-…?" I start but he cuts me off slightly.

"Don't ever do that again." He says sounding more worried than mad. I feel a smile come back onto my face and I hugged him again. He rested his chin on my head and I could hear Tony mumbling something along the lines of "isn't that adorable" I ignore it and continue to hug him.

"Oh man, the rumors are true!" I heard a voice behind me. We both pulled out of the hug seeing Clint. I smile before hugging him. "Welcome back to the land of the living!" He laughs.

"Feels good to be back!" I laugh; pulling out. Seconds later Natasha came up with a big smile.

"I knew you'd pull through Sanders." She smirks; hugging me. I couldn't stop smiling; knowing that these people, superheroes; Avengers, cared about me this much. I wouldn't give this up for the whole world.

**PLEASE REVIEW! I just want to make sure that you all liked this! :) **


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

**Hey everyone! I'm glad you all liked the chapter! Thank you soooooo much for the reviews! :) It's really an amazing feeling, knowing that a lot of people like this story! :,) The tears! XD **

**THIS STORY IS NOWHERE NEAR OVER! :D Just want you all to know that! :) **

I groaned as I continued to flip through the channels. There was nothing on still; like- at all.

Steve was sitting in the chair next to the bed and Natasha was talking to Clint in the doorway. Tony had gone back to the Tower to spread the good news (again) to- well, Bruce and Thor... Thor got here a bit ago apparently. Pepper was away on a trip. She knew I was awake and had literally just left for her business meeting in Europe that she canceled. She was heading back now. I flip through two more channels before settling on The Big Bang Theory, one of my favorite shows as you all know. I tossed the remote on the bed and laid back.

"How much longer do I have to be here?" I groan; turning to Steve. He looks up from his book.

"Few more days at the least." He says. I make a face. He smirks. "Sorry, but you should be home within the month." He says.

"Wait-... what is the month?"

"It's-"

"May 4." Clint buts in. "Or as I like it, May the 4th be with you." He says. I feel my eyes widen.

"That's today?!" I yell. He nods. Steve raised an eyebrow.

"What's that?" We turn to him with serous faces.

"Oh my god you haven't lived." I blurt out.

"Star Wars, ya know, Jedi knights, Darth Vader, Yoda." Clint says. He gives us a strange look.

"Clint." I said seriously. He looked at me. "He doesn't know." I say. His eyes widened. We both knew that Steve didn't know about Darth Vader being Luke's father.

"He's probably the last guy in the country who doesn't know!" He says seriously. I nod in agreement; glancing at Steve who looked confused as hell.

"Don't worry, it's not too late!" I make clear to him. Steve just nodded to make me happy. "That means it would be on channel-..." I think for a moment; picking up the remote.

"6 right?" Clint says. I nod in agreement; picking up the remote and change it; allowing the Star Wars movie to come on. It was episode IV.

"Great it just started." I almost squeal. Steve chuckles; looking at the TV and putting the book on the table.

~0~

Many hours later the III one ended and I felt a yawn escape my mouth.

"Yep, time for bed." Steve says picking up the remote; turning it off.

"Aw..." Me and Clint say.

"But the Clone Wars was just about to start." I whine.

"And you can watch it tomorrow." He says with a smirk. I huff; falling back onto the bed; wincing at the jab of pain. God this sucks.

I pull the covers back and stare at the ceiling. Natasha sat down at the far side of the room along with Clint while Steve stayed where he was. I eventually felt my eyes droop, and then close.

~0~

_I feel my eyes open... There was fog-, like a lot. That was all I could see. I look down; seeing I was wearing my black ripped skinny jeans and my black army shirt and tan jacket with combat boots…. What I was wearing the day I was shot._

_I look back up; seeing a fight now going on in front of me. I could see Natasha and Steve; along with at least a dozen men they were fighting. I squint; blocking out the sun. I saw Iron Man fly by and I could see Clint on a roof. I squint as I look around and hear the sound of rapid feet. _

_Suddenly I could see a German shepherd running at me; its lips curled up into a snarl and its ears back._

_My eyes widen as I began to run in the other direction when I looked down; seeing my feet where moving but I wasn't going anywhere. I felt my breath quicken and I turned._

_The dog leaped at me; teeth bared and then a gunshot rang and it went black._

I sat up like a bolt of lightning and felt a stab of pain sprint up my body. I cried out; holding my stomach from the sudden pain. I felt my pupils fill my eyes and I began to look around frantically.

"Kate! Hey-" I look to my help seeing Natasha, Clint, and Steve looking at me; all with worried eyes. "Are you ok?" Steve asked. I take a minute to slow my breathing. What the freakin hell was that?!

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." I wipe the cold sweat off my face.

"You were screaming." Natasha said quietly; looking concerned. I look at her.

"I-I was?" I take in a shaky breath. She nods. I look at the sheets on my bed. - Well, they were kinda on the floor.

I put both hands on my face; taking a few deep breaths.

"Are you ok now?" Steve says. I nod. "Wanna try and go back to sleep?" He asked. I nod again; leaning back down; pulling the covers with me.

I took a deep breath and someone turned the light off after I closed my eyes; drifting back off.

~0~

**A WEEK LATER…**

I was standing in the bathroom; looking at myself in the mirror. This was it. I was finally going back home, after 5 months. Thank the Lord.

I looked pretty skinny in the mirror. Considering that I was in a bed so long; not moving, that makes sense. I was wearing some AmericanEagle boot cut jeans and a baggy t-shirt that Natasha brought over for me to change into.

I took a deep breath before walking out of bathroom and into the room; eyeing the bed I had been in. I let my hand slide over the sheets before I finally walked out of the room and into the hall. I see Steve leaning against the wall; his arms crossed over his chest. He looked up when I walked over.

"Ready to get out of here?" He smirked. I nod quickly.

"Hell yeah I am." I say like it's obvious. He nods; looking amused as we walked down the hall.

"Oh-" He stopped in his tracks and I slowed down; looking back at him, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion. He pulled something out of his jacket pocket and handed it to me. I took it; realizing what it was. "We had it cleaned off so… well, you get the idea." He shrugs. I smile and nod; eyeing the little cross necklace he had given to me on my "birthday".

"Thank you." I side it around my neck; hearing the little click I straightened it out and smiled up and him before we walked for the door.

~0~

I walked into the lobby of the tower; taking a deep breath. It smelled so much better than the hospital!

"Welcome Home Miss Sanders, it is indeed good to have you back with us." Jarvis says as we walked for the elevator.

"Good to see you too Jarvis," I smile as we walked into the elevator. It closes behind us and we begin to ride the elevator up.

"Just a heads up Kate, but everyone might be a bit…." Steve trails off; trying to find the right words.

"Enthusiastic?" I ask slowly. He nods.

"Yeah, so uh, just be prepared." He smirks. I laugh and nod. Seconds later the door opens with that familiar ding and we walked out. I got a quick look at the communal floor before I was pulled into a frantic hug.

"Oh my god Kate, it's so good to see you!" Pepper whispered. I smiled; hugging her. She pulled out a few seconds later; red in the face with tears in her eyes.

"Oh- No, Pepper please don't cry, cause then you're gonna make me cry." I chuckle. She nods; wiping the rims of her eyes before smiling at me and pulling me into a hug again.

After hugging Pepper, I got a hug from Bruce, and then got a crushing hug from Thor.

Suddenly I remember something very important.

"I need to see Sam!" I said aloud. Pepper smiled and chuckled; as if she could only imagine Sam's reaction.

"Want me to take you there now?" Steve asked; after sipping his coffee. I nod; grabbing a coat and putting it on.

~0~

I walked up to the apartment that Sam and her family lived in; about to knock when I hesitated. This is it! I'm probably going to get slapped for not telling her sooner. I smile to myself as I finally knock.

No answer. I ring the doorbell a few dozen times and I finally get a response.

"Give me a freaking second to get to the damn do-" I could hear Sam as she opened the door and stopped mid-sentence. She froze where she was and dropped some kind of clay pot in her hand.

I bit my bottom lip and gave her a small smile. Without warning she let out a blood-curdling scream before lunging at me for a hug. I had to bite my lip harder from the pain but otherwise I just ignored it.

"Oh my god I hate you so much you asshole!" She was crying. Aw, I can feel the best friend love. "You're not supposed to do that to your best friend, what the hell man" She says; pulling out of the hug and slapping my arm lightly.

"Good to see you too Sam" I chuckle. She squeals and pulls me into a hug again; making me laugh. I see her look up out of the corner of my eye.

"C'mon Steve, join the hug." She says.

"I'm fine over here Sam," He chuckles.

"Get your ass over here and join the hug soldier!" She yelled with a laugh. He rolled his eyes before finally walking over and joining the hug. Seconds later she we all pulled out and Sam went to the doorway. "Mom! I'm staying at Stark Tower for like a week! I'll call you! Bye!" She yelled inside.

"What!?" I could hear her mom before Sam closed the door. I had my mouth open; about to speak.

"You did not just do that," I chuckle. Sam grins before turning back to us.

"Well let's go!" She waves us down towards the stairs. I roll my eyes before looking up at Steve who was shaking his head with a sigh.

"We're not getting rid of her for a while, just so you know." I whisper to him. He smirks as we walked down the stairs with Sam in tow.

**I hope you liked it! :) I had a good time writing this part, with Sam's reaction and all. XD Please review! :) **


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

**I'm glad you all liked the last chapter! :) And I am also getting back into the questions for A Place to Call Home so if you have any questions for them please feel free to ask! XD I hope you all like this one, there is a lot of silliness between Kate and Sam in this one *grins* the best friends are reunited! Haha **

Steve and I walked out of the elevator with Sam following.

"Hey Sam!" Pepper said cheerfully as we walked up; then she furrowed her eyebrows at the duffle bag in her hands. "What is tha for?" She asked hesitantly. I smirked.

"I'm crashing with you all for a while." She shrugs; tossing her bag on the couch and plopping down.

"Oh- uh….." Pepper trails off. I just shake my head at her; telling her to just except it and be thankful she wasn't moving in with us. She just smiles. "Ok then! Uh, there should be a spare room on your floor right?" She asked us. Steve and I both nodded. There was a spare room right across from mine.

Oh I can see this blowing up in our faces….. Can't wait! I grinned before showing Sam to her room.

~0~

Sam was following me down the hall as we headed toward the room she would be staying in. We walked up to the door across from mine and I opened the door; letting her walk in. I hadn't been in this room yet. I know it was pretty much ready to go.

We looked around the room. The walls were a Lilac Purple and had a medium grey trim along the windows; closet doors, and tops of the walls. There were black curtains and the window panes were also black. The bed comforter grey with a Lilac trim. There were two black night-tables on either sides of the bed and there was a black dresser and a mirror above it with a black trim. There was also a bathroom and a walk-in closet.

"Holy mother of god this is awesome!" Sam yelled; looking around. I smirk; sitting down on her bed. "You have no idea how lucky you are." She chuckles; sitting down next to me; placing her duffle bag on the floor. I smirk; looking out her window.

I really wonder how many times she's told me that.

"Oh! I've been meaning to ask you about something-" She adjusts herself and looks at me. "Since you kinda…" She trials off; narrowing her eyes and shaking her head from side to side slightly. "Are awake now, have you thought about calling Steve 'dad'?" She asked slowly. I felt my face drop. Of course.

"Ok, I haven't thought about it too much since I woke from a _coma._" I say like it was obvious. "Why er you so keen on making this happen!?" I laugh. She shrugs.

"I dunno, you two just seem really close. I just figure that since _to be technical!-" _She chuckles. "He is your dad now, so I just think you should call him that." She argues. I roll my eyes.

"If it means that much to you then I guess I could give it try…" I shrug.

"No!" She says. "You will do it!" She says. "Do or do not! There is no try!" She says. I burst out laughing Star Wars quotes! And this; my good people, is why she is my best friend.

~0~

A few hours later, after it had gotten dark; Sam, Tony, Steve, Clint, and I were all watching Star Wars the Clone Wars. Since Steve had seen all the original movies Sam, Clint, Tony, and I decided that he needed to learn the ways of the force... Yep.

I was sitting with my legs tucked sideways under me and Steve was sitting next to me on my right. Tony was sitting in the arm chair and Clint was lying across the other couch; his hands behind his head. Sam was lying across the floor; don't know why she's weird.

"Anyone want more popcorn?" Clint asked. Tony, Sam, and I nodded while Steve just kept watching. Clint got up and walked toward the kitchen with the empty bowl.

"Get the extra butter one." Tony called over; not taking his eyes off the TV.

"I don't see extra butter." Clint says back; looking over the pantry door.

"It's behind the crackers." Tony says in an annoyed tone. I glanced over briefly.

"...nope. Don't see it. Just plain butter."

"Ugh, here; move it feathers." Tony got up and walked toward the pantry.

I kept my eyes on the TV. Sam suddenly stood up and ran over to the counter. I furrow my eyebrows; looking to my right as she picked something up. I looked back at the TV when I heard a "psst!" I furrow my eyebrows again and look over seeing her holding up a sign. I squinted as I read it.

_Ask him!_

I swallowed before rolling my eyes and mouthing a "no". She gave me a glare and dropped the sign; revealing another.

_You said you would though_

I furrow my eyebrows; reading the sign. What the hell? She rolled her eyes; dropping the sign and showing another.

_Yeah, I knew where this convo would go. Now ask him! _

I glance at Steve; who by the way, looked like he was really enjoying Star Wars so far. I then looked back at Sam and shook my head. She made an annoyed but amused face; showing the next sign.

_You better freaking ask him or so help me I will make sure you wake up in a dark room surrounded by clowns! _

Oh God, please no! I am so freaking terrified of clown! But who isn't right? I'm still wondering how the hell she made those signs when she didn't know how this conversation would turn out.

I quickly nod at her before taking a deep breath. Ok, this is going to end so badly. And on that note I turned to him.

"Hey Steve?" I cleared my throat before speaking. He kept looking at the TV.

"Yeah?" I swallowed; looking at the floor.

"Um... How would you feel if I uh-... called you dad?" That got his attention and he looked over at me.

"Well-"

"I found it!" Clint yelled; holding it up. We both looked up and saw as Clint stuffed it into the microwave. Tony had picked up something and was tinkering with it.

Seconds later he comes back over with the bowl of popcorn and Tony comes over to. They both get back in their spots and Clint throws several pieces of popcorn at us. I rolled my eyes; looking back at the screen. Then I look over at Sam who then removed the clown side and showed another.

_You have done well my apprentice… _

I almost squeal. More Star Wars quotes! I roll my eyes again before she came back over and lied down in the floor. I take in a small breath before swallowing. This is awkward. I could see Steve glancing at my every few seconds. I guess that was a weird place leave a conversation...

~0~

After we finished season one of the Clone Wars Steve, Sam and I were taking the elevator up. Mine room, Steve's, the spare room (Sam's), and Bruce's room were on this floor. Tony and Pepper had the top floor. And Natasha's, Clint's, the other spare room, and Thor's room were on the floor under us.

We walked out of the elevator and down the hall. Sam walked to her door.

"Night bestie!" She side punches my shoulder before walking into her room and closing the door. I roll my eyes before it was just me and Steve in the hall. I walked a few feet down the hall and opened my door.

"Well-" Steve starts. I raise an eyebrow and look at him.

"What?" He stops walking; putting his hands in his pockets and looking at me.

"You can, you know, call me dad if you want to." He says; trying to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal. I let out a breath and nod. I feel a smile come onto my face and I nod again.

"Ok." I smile; nodding to myself.

"You know; if you want to." He adds. I nod.

"Yeah" I smile. He nods after a few seconds. "Well, good night... _Dad_" I smirk; emphasizing Dad. He smirks and chuckles before walking past and down the hall toward his room. I smirked to myself before walking into my room and closing the door. I take a deep breath before taking a moment to think about this.

Ok. So I just officially called Steve Rogers; Captain America: Dad... How many people can say that!?

I suddenly hear someone open my door. I turn around suddenly and see Sam walk in; grinning and closing the door behind her.

"That went better than I expected." She squealed. I roll my eyes.

"I hate you." I laugh. She nods to herself.

"Ii except that, but at least I have completed my mission!" She says and looks dramatically off into the distance. I sigh. And this folks is my weirdo friend for ya.

I turn her toward my door.

"I want to go to bed! Get out!" I laugh. She rolls her eyes and leaves my room; grinning at me before closing my door behind her as she left.

A few minutes later after I got ready for bed I got under the covers and turned my light off.

The thought wouldn't stop circling my mind, that I had a dad again.


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

**Hey everyone! :) I'm glad that you all liked the chapter, I know some of you have probably been waiting for that, and I just couldn't resist in adding those Star Wars quotes! ;) Please review if you like this one! And I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while! School is horrible and grooling! Ugh… Hope you enjoy! XD Oh! And time is kinda all over the place in this chapter, just a little heads up-!**

**OH! I ALMOST FORGOT! So I have a friend and she has some awesome stories. Her name is: PheonixCawCaw**

**She writes the Red Archer series, there amazing in my opinion and I think you all should go check them out! :) It's officially your all's homework! XD But in all seriousness, please take a look because they really are cool and fun to read! **

**And I'm waiting on that next chapter PheonixCawCaw! XD**

I opened my eyes the next morning as my alarm clock went off. After turning it off I got out of bed and walked to my dresser; getting out some shorts and a tank top before hurrying to get dressed.

I brushed my teeth; put my hair up, and put on my shoes, and headed for the door. As I opened it, the lights came on just a bit; dimly lighting the hall as I walked toward the elevator.

About a minute later I walked out; seeing Steve- dad, whatever I'm calling him; walking out the door.

"Um, hello? Wait for me!" I smirk; walking a bit faster. He turned around; a slightly confused look on his face.

"Kate, what are you doing up?" He asked like us going for runs every morning never happened before. I furrow my eyebrows. What the hell?

"What do you mean? It's time to run-"

"Not for you it's not!" He seemed amused at the fact that I thought I was going on a run. I furrow my eyebrows.

"But-"

"Kate, you just got out of a coma. You're not going to be allowed to do much exercising any time soon." He says; as if he thought I understood that. I huff; now disappointed. Come on, I've been in a coma for 5 months and I want to spend a bit of time with you for heaven's sake.

"K" I mumble; turning around and walking for the elevator. I catch his pitied look in the reflection on the windows.

"Would you rather me not run?" He asked slowly. I quickly turn and nod. If he thinks that I'm gonna stay here and sit on my ass doing nothing…

"Wanna watch more Star Wars?" I asked; getting a bit excited. He smirks before throwing his hands in the air.

"Sure, why not." He says; obviously amused now. I smile before we walked back into the elevator.

~0~

We had watched a couple episodes and were taking a break now. I was sitting on the couch on my side hugging a pillow.

"Hey St-dad?" I asked; looking over at him. I need to get used to calling him that. He was in the kitchen, at the fridge. He peaked his head over the fridge door.

"Yeah?"

"Um, when can I go back to SHIELD?" I asked; scratching my head. "And... You know- go on my first mission"

"Hm, how bout never?" He says; closing the door. I give him a look and he smirks.

"C'mon. I have to go back at some point!" I said; my voice slightly whiney. He raised an eyebrow at me; I only shrugged.

"Kate, you just got out of the hospital." He says; almost laughing. "You're not going back to SHIELD for a while." He says. I could tell he had made up his mind already.

"Fine" I say; throwing the pillow I was hugging over my face and groaning into it. I heard him chuckle before coming back down to sit on the couch.

I finally picked up the remote and pushed play with the pillow sideways on my face so that he couldn't see my face but I could see the TV to my left.

Damn it. I could at least watch Natasha and Clint spar or something and we could work on some moves in slow motion when Dad's not there to watch me so I don't do something stupid.

I clenched my jaw slightly and kept my face under the pillow as I stared at the screen. A minute or so went by before I felt the pillow move from my face.

"Hello?" He chuckled. I grabbed the pillow and put it back on my face. But I wasn't able to contain my smile. "You mad at me now?" He asked. I curled up into a ball against the corner of the couch. "Kaaaaate?" He drew out before poking me a couple times in the arm.

"Dad stop" I try to say in a serious voice.

"Don't be mad. You know I can't let you back in the field yet" He says a bit serious this time. I could see it in his eyes that he meant that. I feel bad in a way, but in all seriousness. I survived getting shot i think i can manage a little training maybe.

"Then why can't I watch Natasha and Clint train or something?" I ask slowly; peaking just my eyes over the pillow.

"Because I know it'll end with them teaching you some moves behind my back" He says with a smirk. Damn it. How did he come to that conclusion. It's not like I mentioned it out loud-... Wait- maybe I did.

"No..." I hesitate to say and narrow my eyes. He gives me a look and I bite my lip.

"Is that so?" He asked. I know he's just playing but hey- maybe I can convince him. He nods to himself slightly before looking back at the screen. I was still hiding behind my pillow.

"So does that mean I can?" I ask hopefully. He just turns a look back on me.

"No Kate" He says in a bit of a tired voice.

"What if I-"

"No" He cut me off.

"Please?" I ask again in a hopeful manner.

"Kate, this discussion is over" He says more sternly this time. I finally huff and look back at the screen with a glare. I don't feel like watching this now.

I slowly put the pillow down and got off the couch to walk for the kitchen.

"Why are you leaving?" He asked; looking over the couch; upside down slightly.

"I'm just gonna lay down" I mumble before grabbing a water bottle from the fridge.

"And leave me here to watch Star Wars by myself?" He asked. I huff.

"Yeah" I reply shortly before walking for the elevator.

"What if I have more questions?" He asked in a mockingly short tone.

"I'm sure you'll be fine" I say back in the same voice.

I got over to it and pressed the button before waiting. A few seconds went by and it got quiet besides from the episode playing. My eyes went to the ground when I thought I saw a shadow behind me.

I turned a bit and was suddenly lifted off the ground.

"What the- _freaking hell_?!" I blurt out as he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. "Stev- Dad! Put me down!" I snap; smacking him several times.

"What grumpy grumps; don't wanna spend time with me now?" He laughed slightly before dropping me on the couch.

I picked up my pillow and huddled into the corner of the couch.

"Can't stay mad at me forever" He gives me a big smile. I glare at him; only my eyes visible above the pillow. Damn you and your good patriotism ways. He's trying so hard to make me happy despite not letting me do the one thing I love and want to excel in.

"I can try" I shot back. He give me a playful but saddened look.

"Well that hurt" He mumbled quietly. I huff and stare at the floor.

Damn it, I know part of him was upset by that comment but he was still being a pain in the ass with his happy mood at the moment.

I kept my glare on the floor and I could see him glancing to look over at me.

A good five minutes went by before he scooted over to sit next to me. I let out a aggravated breath through my nose and kept my gaze on the floor.

How the hell did he expect me to react to not letting me back into SHIELD. I mean I don't blame Steve in anyway for what happened, but if I had just gone on that mission none of this would have happened... But I'd rather it be me that got it than him so...

"That floor as interesting as it was last time we sat in here?" He asked. I clenched my jaw.

"Dad, just stop" I mumble.

"C'mon you can at least watch the show" He says with a smirk. "You know I'm not doing this on purpose right?" He asked; nudging my arm. "Fury literally won't clear you even if I let you. I'll let you go as soon as you're ready" I keep my eyes on the floor. I know part of him is just wanting to holding me back from the field; and to keep me away from it. It's not all just about my physical condition and that Fury needs to clear me.

"Uh huh" I mumble then give a miserable roll of my eyes. Sure. You liar.

"What would make you happy again?" He laughed. He obviously finds me being pissed off amusing. I usually can't hold a glare when he's in a happy mood so he probably thinks he can beat me on this one. Fat chance, dad.

I don't even bother answering.

"C'mon Kate" He poked me again and i squirmed a bit. No. Hell. No.

I'm way too ticklish for this bullshit.

"St-Dad-" I start in a warning tone. "Not in there mood-" I start giggling when he poked me in the side again. He smirked; laughing.

"There's that beautiful smile" He laughed before poking me in the side some more. I tried to hold in a laugh as I squirmed farther into the corner of the couch.

"Stop!" I laughed and pushed his hand away before hiding behind my pillow.

"I'm thinking you're ticklish" He chuckled. I clenched my jaw and tried to hold a straight face as I hid behind the pillow.

"No go away" I say in an angry tone.

"No I think I'll just tickle you some more and see if I can get that smile out of you again" He says before poking me again.

"Dad!" I laughed before swatting at his hands. "Stop!" I tried to say before he was full blown tickling me.

"What? I'm sorry I can't hear you over the laughing" He chuckled before pulling me a bit closer so I was laying down on the couch beside him.

Holy Christ I can't stand being ticklish! Can't breathe here!

"Ok! Ok!" I finally yelled over the laughing.

Damn it. I thought I could steer him off. Stupid dumb ass ticklish sides.

I had a smile on my face now. He looked a lot happier before giving a pleased nod.

"That's better" He chuckled.

I finally just sit next to him and stare at the episode I had barely been paying attention to. Something tells me he's just trying to distract me from SHIELD for a while in order to keep me from being depressed about the topic of getting back in the field.

Ok ok ok. Fine. Whatever. Maybe it's for the best for now. He's obviously not changing his mind.

~0~

A few hours later, after we had started season 2 of Star Wars the Clone Wars. I wasn't mad anymore for your information. I put it behind me. It isn't really a big deal anyway now that i think about it. It shouldn't take too long to get back out in the field if Steve's telling the truth. Sam came out of the elevator seconds later.

"Mornin bestie, morning bestie's dad" I stiffened a bit and looked over at her. She stumbled over to the other couch to our right and fell onto it face first. I saw Steve furrow his eyebrows at first before looking over at me.

'And she knows about this how...?" He raised an eyebrow. I pulled my lips into a thin line before smiling.

"Well i uh-..." I trail off; trying to find the right words.

"Oh i made her do it, just took a little persuasion" Sam shrugs before lifting her head to look at him.

"Oh really?" Steve says; looking down at me. I bit my lip.

"Hey! She threatened me with clowns!" I argue; getting serious. He only raises an eyebrow again. "And I was going to do it anyway, so…" I add; suddenly sounding a bit awkward.

"You were gonna do what?" Clint asked as he walked out of the elevator. I huff.

"Kate called Steve "dad" last night!" Sam says in an 'aw' tone. My head shoots up and i send her a death look.

"What! - No, you made me ASK him if I could call him that!" I protest.

"And you did" She says in a singsong voice. I narrow my eyes.

"Aw, looks like you guys completed the next step in your father-daughter relationship status." Clint jokes. I turned a glare on Clint. "Isn't that adorable, you both have that freaking scary glare" He says. I looked over at Steve quickly and saw the glare he was giving Clint disappear from his face before he looked down at me with a slightly amused and confused face. He rolled his eyes before we all ended up looking at the TV. "Aaaannnnddd…." Clint starts; doing something on his phone. "I just sent out an Avenger-wide text saying you called him dad." He says with a smile.

Aw hell no bird brain! I am so not in the mood for this crap!

I immediately turned to him before picking up the closest thing on the coffee table and hurling it at his head. He ducked and the empty cup hit the wall behind him.

"Christ! Did you teach her how to throw too!?" He asked. Steve looked over at that one before glancing at me with a warning look. That's for throwing the cup. I roll my eyes.

"Yeah i'll go clean it up" I huff but i end up smirking.

"I would hurry and do that before Pepper comes down here and sees a mug shattered." He says. Ok, good point. I pick up the pace before going to clean up the mess; sending Clint a glare as i passed... He only stuck his tongue out at me.

~0~

So it's kinda official… having Sam at the tower is the worst idea we ever could have allowed. Not that it was a tremendously bad idea, but besides from the fact that she almost blew up the kitchen when she forgot to take the spoon out of her soup when putting it in the microwave…. It was a pretty good week with her. I would definitely do it again!

"You better stay out of trouble" Sam grinned as she walked into her apartment. I smirked as I stopped in the doorway. Steve was waiting down stairs.

"You're telling me?" I ask. She rolls her eyes before punching my shoulder playfully. I grin as she walks all the way into the apartment; putting her hand on the door.

"Get yourself shot again and this time I'll kill you" She says. I laugh and then get serious.

"Ok…" I immediately knew she was somewhat serious before she smirked and rolled her eyes. Ok, let's just hope she's not being too serious. "And I expect you to come by when I'm working!" She adds. I nod before she smiles.

"Bye bestie!" I laugh. She gives me a cheesy grin.

"See ya!" She then closed the door and I walked for the stairs.

~0~

When I got back to the Tower I saw Clint and Natasha on the couch. Pepper was getting home from work probably any minute now, Tony ran out to get something and Bruce was on the carrier. Steve had just dropped me off because he had to go to the carrier for something, god only knows what…. Well, and Fury… yeah.

"Hey Kate" Natasha called. I smile.

"Hi" I walked over before sitting down.

"Is he here?" Clint asked. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"You mean Da-...Steve?" I ask slowly; feeling that awkwardness. He smirks and nods; looking around. I shook my head. "He's on the carrier." I tell him. What the hell is he up to?

"Ok, so you remember the girl Sasha from your tryouts for SHIELD?" I nod slowly. "She wants to know how you're doing, and wants you to come up to the SHIELD academy for the day" Clint says with a smirk. Really?!

"Really? Can I go?" I ask with excitement. He shrugs.

"The Cap'n isn't here….. So sure!" He says. I smirk and get up as I followed him towards the elevator.

"You gonna come Nat?" I asked; turning around. She drank some more of her coffee before standing up.

"Sure" She says with a smirk. "I have a mission I'm leaving for in an hour anyway." I nod and we all pile into the elevator.

~0~

I can't believe I'm about to walk into a SHIELD academy! I've always wanted to see one but I never really got the chance once I kinda fell into a coma.

We walked into the building and I felt a smile come onto my face. This was incredible! I had never been to anywhere like this!

As we walked down the halls I did end up getting a few confused looks from people.

"Is that the shifter?/what's she doing here?!/doesn't she live in Stark Tower?" I heard several different voices as we were walking and I suddenly got an uneasy feeling.

After a few minutes of walking we got to an office and I walked in. There was a woman sitting at a desk; looking through some files.

"Are you Agent Sanders?" The women asked. I nodded before taking a step forward. "I'm Agent Weaver, I run this academy." She says; shaking my hand. I give a nod. "There has been a lot of talk about you the last few days." She says; putting her hands behind her back. I raise an eyebrow. "Ever since you got out of that coma, students haven't stopped talking about you and your ability." She says. I hesitate before nodding. Ok then, I was kinda hoping this would be more of a fresh start where I wasn't known. But this is SHIELD after all…

"I was here to see Agent Anderson." I cleared my throat. She nods.

"Yes, you'll find her in room 645; down the hall and to your right." She says. I nodded before looking to Clint and Natasha.

"We'll be around, send a text when you wanna leave k?" Clint says. I nod and smile before they both walk out. I walked out too; going down the opposite hall.

~0~

I walked into a room; looking around.

"There she is!" I hear a voice. I turn and smile; seeing Sasha. "Hey! How ya doing?" She asked; walking over and giving me a quick side hug.

"Better; still a bit more healing. Training should be starting up again soon though." I reply. She nods.

"Well it's good to see you again! Have you been able to shift at all? Or use your ability?" She asked. I hesitate before shaking my head.

"Not yet, I'm still a bit shaken up when I try to" I tell her. She nods.

"I get that, not many agents can say they get through what you went through so quickly; and not to mention live!" She laughs. I laugh in agreement. That is true, I'll admit. "Oh! Let me introduce you to some friends." She says; taking me over to the other side of the room.

There were 5 other people in the room. We walked up to one of them.

"This is Agent Jackson Howard, and his group of nerds." She says cheerfully. I smirk as the guy; Jackson walked over.

"Hi; just Jack works" He says. I smile and nod; shaking his hand.

"Kate Sanders" I reply. He stopped mid shake and his eyebrows shot up.

"Whoa, as in like- _the _Kate Sanders? The shifter!?" He asked. I hesitate before nodding.

"Yeah, but it's just Kate." I make clear. He quickly nods.

"Oh of course, it's just-… we never thought you'd actually come to the academy, you're big news here" He says. I raise an eyebrow but nod. It was quiet for a few more seconds before he introduced me to his group of Agents.

They were pretty nice. I'm definitely glad I went.

"Oh! Hey, wanna see something I'm working on?" Jack asked. I shrugged a nod before following him to the other side of the room where they're a big machine.

"What is it?" I ask; looking it over. It was very interesting; I really wanna know now.

"It's like a prototype for tome travel!" He says' excited. "It's not much, but it's more for fun than any actual school stuff." He says. I went wide-eyed.

"This is amazing!" I breathe' rubbing my hand over the metal. It was almost like a globe shape. "Can I see it in action?" I asked quietly. He shrugged.

"Sure! I still have to work on some stuff if you wanna help." I nod before walking over with Sasha.

**Ok! I have the next chapter ready to go… but I'm not going to post it just yet…. Haha! :D And I think that the next few chapters might come as a surprise, but I thought they were really cute… so I hope you enjoy them once they're posted! XD Please review if you liked! :) **


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

**Hey everyone! Here's you chapter! I know it's kinda soon… but I couldn't help it! XD I hope you like this and make sure to read the end note when you're finished reading this chapter; it contains information! XD Enjoy! **

"Hold this in place, and make sure it doesn't move to the left." Jack instructs. I nod before doing as I was told. For the last couple hours I had been helping Jack and his group with this time machine. So far I was having a lot of fun!

"Who knew you'd fit right in with this group of nerds" I heard Sasha from behind me. I rolled my eyes before grinning.

"You the one who introduced me to said nerds" I reply. She smirks before crossing her arms over her chest; watching us work.

"Ok…" Jack starts; taking his hand away. I took mine away too. "We're done!" He laughs. I suddenly felt a wave of excitement. This is it! I can't wait for a demonstration- wait….. Will it work? And how would I know that it worked if they go back in time. WAIT-

Would this mean I could see my parents again?

"Ok, Danny?" He looked over to the blonde boy in the corner. "Put the power up to…." He thinks for a moment. "40%" Danny nods before looking down at the control panel. He pushed several buttons and then there was a glow; and the center of the globe like structure lit up.

My mouth dropped. The did it?!

"Oh my god it worked!" Jack shouted. The light was still there… and then something went wrong. There was a spark at the control panel and then the light disappeared before it exploded. I only had a few seconds to cover my head before I was thrown to the opposite side of the room. I felt the wind get knocked out of me and then I looked down at my hand for some reason. There was some kind of faint glow that seeped into my hands before it was gone.

"Oh my god- Kate are you ok?!" Jack and Sasha ran over along with the others. They helped me up onto my feet and I nodded. "I am so sorry! I should have had you wear protective gear and stand ba-" Jack was really worried and concerned; that I could tell.

"Hey, I'm fine." I laugh. And I actually was. I didn't feel any pain at all. My first thought was that I would hurt my stomach somehow, but there was nothing! "Just a few bruises." I smirk.

It took me a few minutes to convince him of that before he got back to working on the machine. Sasha turned to me.

"You wanna go home? I can meet up with you tomorrow on the carrier if you want." She says. I nod. I think I had enough action for one day.

"Yeah, sounds fun." I smile. She gives me a nod before walking out of the room. I pulled out my phone and texted Clint; telling him I was ready to go and I would meet him by the door.

~0~

After getting back from to the tower I headed down to the lab. Sure enough I saw Bruce sitting at the table and thankfully Tony wasn't around.

"Bruce?" I spoke up. He looked up from what he was doing; his glasses on his face.

"Hey, Kate" He says. I smile.

"I uh, have a couple questions about something…." I trail off. He nodded; getting a slightly concerned and confused look.

"Ok, is uh, everything ok?" He asked. I walked over before sitting on the opposite side of the counter.

"Well, I don't know. I was at the SHIELD academy and there was an accident in the lab I was in-" I tell him. "They were working on a time machine." I say slowly. He raises an eyebrow and nods. "And it sort a worked, but it didn't work for long." I say. "It kinda exploded and I was caught in the blast" I add. He nods; looking a bit concerned.

"Do you feel any different, or have any injuries?-" He asked.

"No, and that's what I'm worried about. But… there was this other thing that happened." I say nervously. "After I got caught in the blast; the weird light was like- absorbed into my hands… a-and I don't know what it will do to me. At first I thought maybe it was like some kind of radiation, but I don't know." I tell him. He nods.

"What did Steve say about it?" He asked. I opened my mouth to respond; then closed it. He smirks. "He doesn't know does he?" I shake my head.

"Please don't tell him, I'll probably never be let back into any kind of SHIELD building." I smirk. Bruce nods.

"Alright, but if I do find anything, I have to tell him ok?" He says. I nod and he gets up. "Now, until I know what happened, I'm gonna take some blood if that's ok for study." He says. I blink a few times. Damn it, of course it had to be needles. I hate them. Hate. Them.

"Do you have to?" I asked slowly. He smirks.

"Yes, Kate I do." He replies. I huff before nodding. I suddenly felt a weird pain in my stomach. I flinched before rubbing it. The burning feeling was there for a few more seconds before it just disappeared. I furrowed my eyebrows; feeling around and then pressing harder. There was suddenly no pain.

I lifted my shirt just a bit and felt my breath catch in my throat. It was closed. Like- completely. There was a scar and that was it. It was completely healed!

I quickly put my shirt back down and swallow hard. Something is telling me that something went very wrong in that lab.

~0~

After I suffered through Bruce taking some blood samples I went back up to the communal floor. I was now sitting on the couch; looking at my hand closely. Images of the light seeping into my hands flashed in my mind as I stared at my hand; rubbing it with the other as if it might uncover something. It was around 6pm right now.

"What are you doing?" I jump; whipping my head around to see Steve was behind me; leaning on the couch. "Oh, sorry" He smirks. I shake my head; blinking a few times. He was wearing his stealth suit again.

I still don't know where he got that from… Or when he got it for that matter. It was some time when I was still in the coma.

"It's fine. I just didn't hear you" I quickly smile. He raised an eyebrow before nodding. Please don't catch on. He pushed off the couch before walking into the kitchen.

"So what'd you do today?" He asked. I swallow; getting up and walking over to a stool.

"Not much; hung around." I shrug. He nods; opening the fridge and pulling out a water bottle. "How about you?" He shrugs; leaning on the counter on the opposite side.

"Just a mission, no big deal." He says. I nod after a few seconds. I can't tell him, he'll freak out.

Suddenly I felt really sleepy. I sniffed in a breath before rubbing my eyes. Then I yawned. What the heck!? How am I tired?

"Ii uh, think I'm gonna take a nap" I mumble. I see him furrow his eyebrows before he placed the bottle of water on the table.

"Are you feeling ok?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, I just wanna lie down for a few minutes…" I trail off as I walked for the elevator.

A few minutes later I got to my room. I didn't bother changing; I also left my door open a crack.

I fell onto my bed and was out cold in an instant.

**Ok! Next chapter will be up really soon! I have the next two ready to go…. Surprisingly… hehe. But depending on how many reviews I get (which is how I know how many people have read it; it's not that I'm going to hold your chapters hostage until I get reviews! XD I'm not that crazy!) I may wait until tomorrow to post chapter 49. Hope you like! **


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

**Next chapter everyone! :D Now like you all know, this is where things are gonna turn in a slightly different direction for just a few chapters…. But I couldn't help it… hope you enjoy! :) I'm a bit nervous about how you all will react to this, so please give me some good words if you liked it :)**

**oh my gosh Juliet Gray, you are going to make me cry. XD I should be the only thanking you, you have giving ME the inspiration to put my best into this story and I can't wait to see what you have to offer in your stories! So I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)**

It was about 7:30 in the morning the next day; sunny and not a storm cloud in sight. Despite the cars and city life going on outside, the tower was fairly quiet... for now.

Steve adjusted himself in bed before turning over onto his side; his right arm under his pillow.

Suddenly he felt a thump on his bed. He opened his eyes; glancing over just barely but didn't see anything. It quickly left his mind and he closed his eyes again.

About a minute went by before he felt another thump on his bed... And a giggle.

He opened his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows; this time sitting up. He pinched the bridge of his nose before rubbing his eyes from the tiredness; then he put a hand through his hair and then froze; looking slightly to his left seeing a small girl sitting on his bed crisscross.

His eyebrows shot up and he quickly looked to his right and then back at the little brunette girl before she giggled and waved her arms around. He opened his mouth like he was about to speak; but nothing came out. He then recognized what the young girl was wearing... The same thing Kate was wearing the day before. She had gone to bed early.

"K-Kate?" He was shocked and looked completely clueless of how to react or what to do. He quickly sat up all the way and pulled the covers back; getting out of bed before eyeing Kate; sitting on his bed looking happy and amused.

Kate was babbling in baby talk; sitting crisscross and holding her feet and swaying back and forth.

He closed his eyes for a moment; taking a deep breath before he heard her giggle. He opened his eyes in time to see Kate was looking at something by the side of the bed. She got a wild smile before she slowly lowered herself off the bed; making an "off" sound as she hit the floor. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly as he waited to see what she was doing.

The little Kate ran over to the side of the wall and grabbed his shield by the top rim before running around with it as it dragged across the floor; making a ton of noise; giggling all the way.

"Kate!-" he quickly walked over before grabbed his shield and picking her up with his other arm. She made a "weeee!" noise as he picked her up and put the shield down on the bed.

Kate gave him the pouty lip before reaching for the shield on the bed."

"Eh, shiewl" Kate mumbled before pointing to his shield. Steve looked at her with a smirk before he got serious again and walked out into the hall with Kate still in his arm. He slowly walked down the hall to Kate's room; he slowly pushed the door open after seeing that it was open. He hesitated before walking in; seeing that no one was in the room. He took a deep breath; looking over at Kate.

"Well… looks like we have a slightly problem on our hands…" Steve says quietly to himself; putting his other hand through his hair. Kate was mumbling gibberish before she started making bubble noises; making Steve smile before he walked out with her still in his arm.

~0~

Clint looked up from his video game when he saw Steve walk out of the elevator in his white undershirt and tan sweatpants that he usually wore to bed or during a workout in the gym... He was also carrying a small kid in one arm.

The control fell from his hands and he stared at him with his mouth slightly open.

"Cap, don't you think one kid is enough?" He says with a smirk. Steve rolls his eyes but doesn't respond for a few seconds.

"Yeah, but this isn't a different kid, Clint." Steve says; getting serious. Clint's jaw dropped.

"Holy crap! That's Kate?!" He rose his voice before standing up. Steve nodded; putting Kate on the ground and letting her run around the communal floor. "How the hell did that happen?!" Clint laughed; watching her running around and laughing all the way. Steve still had that "serious soldier face" of his on.

"I was about to ask you that." He says; crossing his arms before looking down at Kate as she ran across the floor and climbed onto the couch slightly behind Clint. He turned around; seeing Kate sitting in his spot. He smirked before ruffling her hair; making her look up at him before laughing.

The elevator opened and Clint and Steve turned to see Tony walk out with Pepper.

"Morning everyone" Pepper smiles; looking extremely tired as she walked toward the coffee machine.

Steve suddenly flinched and looked down; now seeing Kate hugging his leg before looking up at him and giggled; tightening her grip; hugging his leg again.

"You bringing in another orphan, Rogers?" Tony questioned. Steve looked over with a pissed off face; seeing Tony looked very confused and a bit concerned.

"Who is this?!" Pepper laughed; walking over with her coffee cup. She knelt down and saw the young girl giggle and hid behind Steve's leg before Pepper smiled and laughed; standing back up. He took a deep breath; looking down at the young girl again before looking back up.

"This is Kate." Steve finally says; crossing his arms again. Tony smirks; obviously not surprised. Pepper chucked before looking around.

"Uh, w-what?" She asked with another chuckle; now completely lost in the conversation.

"I woke up to this little one on my bed." Steve says as he picks her up again. "I honestly don't know what happened in the last 10 hours that could have caused this..." He trails off.

"Oh my god, we should probably get Bruce down here" Pepper says; now a bit worried.

_"He is already in the process of coming down the elevator Miss Potts."_ Jarvis announces.

Seconds later the door opens and Bruce walked out; he furrowed his eyebrows at the scene in front of him before he got serious.

"How long as she been like this?" He asked while walking over. Steve furrowed his eyebrows.

"Uh, I don't know. I woke up and she was like this-"

"I need to run some tests on the samples real quick-" he says; going back for the elevator. "Make sure she doesn't shift-" He adds as he got into the elevator.

"Wait- how do you know about this?" Steve asked seriously; he was about to put Kate down when Pepper held out her hands to take her. He hesitated before handing Kate off to her before walking toward him in the elevator. Pepper had the biggest smile plastered to her face as she was holding Kate.

Kate rubbed her eyes before letting out the cutest yawn; making Pepper chuckle.

"Look how cute she is!" Pepper says in a whisper and almost squeals; turning to Tony. He just nods.

"Yep, adorable" he says; sitting down on the couch as Clint went on with his video game.

"How could you know about this and not tell me" Steve was suddenly getting defensive and Bruce held up his hands for him to chill.

"Ok, now I know it does look a bit bad right now. But we knew that this might happen but it's not permanent-"

"What do you mean you knew this might happen?!" Steve asked; raising his voice only slightly.

"If you want more information than you need to talk to the students at the SHIELD academy." Bruce says. "I wasn't there when it happened but Kate told me about it when she got home yesterday." He says. Steve looked concerned and slightly confused as to why she didn't tell him about it. Almost as if he could read his mind; Bruce responded. "She didn't want to tell you because she knew you would worry." He adds with a smile.

Steve hesitated before he finally gave a small nod.

"What are these samples?" He asked. Bruce swallowed before he spoke up.

"Kate let me take some blood samples last night; I'll need to take some more today so I can compare them." He says with a bit of regret; glancing back at the adorable little Kate in Pepper's arms. She was swaying from side to side slightly; making Kate giggle.

Steve scratched the back of his head; looking a bit guilty before he looked back at Bruce.

"When do you want to do that?" He asked. Bruce took in a breath before letting it out.

"Well in this case, the sooner the better." He replies. Steve nodded before looking back over at Kate.

~0~

Kate was sitting on the counter in the lab making bubbly noises while Bruce was getting stuff ready. Steve was in the room; standing next to the counter that Kate was on.

"Alright-" Bruce starts; walking over. Steve stood up straighter when he got to the counter. "Ok, just a warning; I don't know if she will shift or not." Bruce says. Steve furrows his eyebrows.

"Wait, so... She can still do that?"

"Yes, there is a higher risk because she can't control her emotions as well, so uh-" he trails off. "Just be ready." He says. Steve lets out a breath before nodding.

Kate was hitting the counter with her little fist while giggling and looking as happy as ever. Steve gave her a pitied look; knowing they were about to ruin her good mood for the day.

"Alright Kate, I'm apologizing in advance for this-" Bruce starts as he picks up the needle. He carefully takes her arm and inserts the needle. Kate looked down before she started whimpering. She looked in Bruce's direction with a 'how could you do this to me' look. Her eyes watered and then she started crying and waving her other arm up and down. "Almost done" Bruce says.

Seconds later he took the needle away and put it on the counter. "All done!" He says; looking down at Kate. He puts a small band aid over the little cut; then walks back over to the counter. The little girl only whimpered again; tears on her cheeks before she started crying again. "She hates me" Bruce says; looking a bit amused. Steve smirks a bit before looking back over at Kate.

She was still crying and then she looked up at Steve and held up her arms for him to pick her up. His eyebrows shot up at first before he scooped her up and held her close. She whimpered for a few more seconds before stopping; hugging his neck and leaning on his shoulder.

"Looks like you got this father thing down" Bruce chuckles. Steve only shrugs after a few seconds. "I'll let you know how the samples turn out; it might take a few hours though." Bruce adds. He nods before walking with Kate to the elevator.

**Ok…. I don't know how you guys reacted to this, but I read several stories where somehow, the Avengers are shrunk down to kids. I thought it would just be adorable to do that with Kate! And I wanted to experiment to see how it would strengthen her bonds with the others! :) ALSO! Kate's age was hard to predict at first, but I did ask around with a few other people and I finally decided that Kate is the age of Boo in Monsters Inc. (Btw, thanks TeamPhoenix18 for suggesting Monsters Inc.!) So Yeah, but anyway, Kate is kinda like Boo. (Only difference is how she looks, the brown hair and blue eyes) She knows a few words but still babbles like a baby sometimes XD Please review if you liked or thought it was adorable! XD I'm a bit nervous again, about how this will do…. I hope I didn't make a mistake with this happening, but anyway. Next chapter is going to be up soon! :D**


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

**Next chapter! XD I can't believe that so many people liked this! :D You guys have no idea what a relief it is! I hope that you all enjoy this next chapter, and if you all have any small requests about things that should happen with Kate being little an all…. Review it! :) **

Steve walked out of the elevator with Kate in his arms. Pepper was on the couch reading a book and Tony was now playing the game with Clint. Once they got closer Pepper looked up and gave a pouty face.

"How'd it go?" She asked; getting up. Steve shrugged as she walked up.

"It was ok" he says. Pepper held out her hands.

"Give er here" she smiles. Steve smirks before handing her off. She looked up with a confused face and started whimpering again as she was moving over to Pepper. Once Pepper was holding her she stopped and was lying on her shoulder.

"Clint, did you know anything about this experiment at the academy?" Steve asked as he walked over. Clint paused his part of the game as Tony kept playing.

"No I haven't. Are you planning on going?"

"I am actually. Pepper is it ok if I leave her here?" Steve asked. Pepper chuckled.

"Of course" she said like it was obvious. Then she turned to Kate. "We'll have so much fun won't we?" She said in a funny voice; making Kate laugh. Steve smiled before giving a nod and walking for the door.

"I should be back in a few hours" he calls as he walks in the elevator; he stops before getting there. "You sure you're ok wi-"

"We'll be fine Steve!" Pepper laughs. "We'll take care of her" she says; using her fingers to comb through Kate's head of curly dark hair that was going in many different directions. He nods before finally walking into the elevator. It closes seconds later and it was quiet.

~0~

**1 hour later... **

"Why won't she stop?!" Clint yelled; holding a pillow over his ears. Tony had left when it started; and that was approximately 5 minutes after Steve left.

"I don't know!" Pepper yelled over the noise of Kate crying. "Shhh! C'mon honey, please stop crying." She soothed; holding Kate. They tried feeding her, putting her down for a nap, everything.

"Is she hungry?" Clint moaned.

"No! She won't eat!" Pepper calls over; putting Kate down on the couch next to her. Kate gave her the pouty lip and sniffled before letting herself cry some more. "Kate, please..." Pepper trailed off; putting her hands to her face.

"When is Steve going to getting back?!" Clint groaned.

"Dear god I hope soon" Pepper whispered.

"Is there something she can play with?" Clint asked. Pepper shrugged; as she picked Kate up again.

"I don't know Clint" Pepper says.

"Ooo! Wait!" Clint yells; getting up and running for the stairs. She furrowed her eyebrows before looking back to Kate.

A few minutes later Clint came back holding a stuffed animal.

"This'll make her happy!" Clint says; holding it out. Pepper furrowed her eyebrows.

"What is that?" Clint looks at the stuffed animal in his hand.

"Steve got it for her when they were at the zoo" he shrugs; handing it to her. Pepper takes it and holds it out to Kate.

"Look Kate!" She says in a soothing voice. Kate was still crying but became a bit quieter when she saw the fluffy animal. She sniffled before taking it and staring at it before hugging it.

Pepper let out a sigh of relief that it was now quiet. Clint did a fist pump as he walked over to his video game.

Kate hid her face in the stuffed animal and sniffled again. Pepper took a deep breath and let it out. "Wow, that was interesting" she breathed; looking down at Kate. The little girl only looked up and smiled before laughing.

"Pep!" She yelled; looking up at her; the stuffed leopard stuck in the grasp of her little fist.

Pepper opened her mouth to say something and nothing came out. She turned to Clint with a big smile on her face.

"Did you hear what she said?!" She whispered in a high voice. Clint was zoned out into his game; only glancing over briefly.

"Uh?"

"She called me Pep!" She whispered; her high pitched voice a sign of happiness obviously.

"Aw, isn't that adorable" Clint says; looking over at Kate with a smirk.

Kate only giggled before shaking the fist that contained the stuffed leopard; it hitting the floor repeatedly.

~0~

Steve walked into an office at the SHIELD academy. He had changed into his suit before he left. He was wearing his stealth suit; which he had received when Kate was still in the coma.

There was a woman sitting at a desk as he walked up. She looked up and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Captain Rogers" She greeted; looking back down at her paperwork.

"Agent Weaver" He replies back. "I'm here to talk to some students about some time portal experiment that went wrong." He starts. Then Agent Weaver looked up. She furrowed her eyebrows but nodded. Then she hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"A-Are… Are you Kate's guardian?" She asked in a very confused voice. He nodded. She looked very surprised before she pulled out several files; handing them to him; getting serious.

"There's everything you need to know. There's a map to the room and also profiles of the students." She says. He glances at her before nodding and walking for the door.

A few minutes later, after navigating the halls he found the right room. There were several students standing around a big object; working on it.

"Is Agent Howard in the room?" He questioned as he walked up. The 5 students in the room looked up and all immediately furrowed their eyebrows.

"That's me" one says and walks over. Steve looked at him before turning the file around and holding it out for him to see. The agent looked at it and swallowed hard.

"Are you... Uh, Captain Rogers?" The student asked. Steve hesitated before nodding.

"Yeah" he says. The student suddenly stiffened a bit and just nodded. "So I need to know what you were doing yesterday with this machine; what went wrong." He asked. The student looked confused for only a moment before he went into action and walked toward the machine.

"This was a prototype for time travel, I guess you could say-" the student says as he walks around it. Steve placed the files on the counter before walking over. "It was just for fun, we weren't really trying to- er uh, I mean it was just a little experimenting..." The other students had stepped to the side; looking confused as hell.

"So what went wrong?" He asked; wanting the answer as soon as possible.

"We don't know yet, but we're working on it." Agent Howard says. He nods; crossing his arms.

"So what else happened yesterday?" He asked; getting more serious. The student stopped looking over at him.

"What do you mean" he asked slowly. "Nothing else happe-"

"Don't lie to me Agent, what happened." He asked; his tone getting a bit darker. The agent swallowed anxiously before he took a deep breath.

"Agent Sanders got caught in the blast of the explosion yesterday and-" He started quickly.

"What?" He stopped the agent; immediately getting defensive again over what apparently happened that he was never told about.

"She was helping us and something went wrong!" The Agent was looking a bit scared and uncomfortable. "Please don't have us suspended-" He pleaded. The other Agents started talking quietly.

"I'm not gonna have you all suspended, I just need the truth about what happened" Steve says. Agent Howard nodded. "Just start from the beginning, and tell me everything that happened" Steve said; trying to sound more so understanding but still serious as he put his hands on the counter; leaving forward on it slightly.

"Ok, so it started around 5pm yesterday when Agent Sanders came in with Agent Sasha Anderson"

~0~

**A few hours later...**

"I swear to god I'm going to call him!" Clint shouted. Turns out the stuffed Leopard only worked for a few minutes. The crying had commenced again. Clint decided that calling Steve was an official threat.

"I'm trying!" Pepper shouted. Kate whimpered and stopped for only a few seconds before she cried some more. "Katie, please..." Pepper sighed.

"Try calling him!" Clint said. "Maybe he has a few tricks up his sleeve-"

"Clint. Steve wouldn't know how to take care of a toddler! I was surprised at how well he did with Kate at her normal age!" Pepper says. Clint smirks.

"So everything you told him was pretty much a lie; about it being a piece of cake..." Clint grins.

"Yes!" Pepper says like it's obvious. Clint laughs before going back to his game.

And as if it was a miracle from God, the elevator door opened and Steve walked out in his suit still.

"Oh my god. Thank you!" Clint looked over; seeing him walk in. Steve furrowed his eyebrows before waking over.

"What's wrong?" He asked; looking a bit concerned when he saw Pepper sitting on the floor with a crying Kate.

"She won't stop, I don't know what to do" Pepper says; sounding very tired. He knelt down slightly behind Kate. She hasn't seen him yet; whimpering in the direction of the window.

He smirks before ruffling her hair; making her look around in confusion before she saw him behind her. She sniffled before smiling and giggling.

He smiled before picking her up. Once she was in his arms she looked around with a slightly confused look at how high in the air she was and let out a very little gasp before she smiled and hid her face in his shoulder.

"She's still afraid of heights." Steve says; making Pepper chuckle. Then Kate turned to face the other way and made an "Ooooo!" sound and he furrowed his eyebrows before hearing a ding of metal being hit.

"What are you doing?" He whispered in an amused tone; looking back slightly. She was hitting the shield with her little fist repeatedly; giggling at the sound it made. "Pepper can you take her real quick?" He asked. She nodded and stood up; taking her.

Steve pulled the shield off his back and placed it on the floor; the painted side up. Pepper put her down and watched as Kate got a wild smile again and toddled over to where it was and plopped down on the floor before smacking the top of it. It made the Vibranuim sound that it normally did when hit. She giggled and did it again.

"Told you he knew how to keep her quiet." Clint says. Pepper sends him a look. He was propping his chin on his fist with a smirk.

Kate looked up and giggled again before hitting the top of the shield.

**Please review! XD I hope you all liked the chapter everyone! *SPOILER ALERT* the next one is going to be really funny and cute! :D Again, if you all have any requests of what should happen let me know in the reviews!**


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

**Next chapter everyone! :) Again, I'm so happy everyone likes this and I do hope you'll give me some ideas if you want certain things to happen. You all can PM me too if you don't want to review them! I check my email whenever I have a few seconds to spare :) I'll shut up now! XD**

Steve walked out of the elevator in his Stealth suit again. Now that Kate was awake and somewhat well Fury had him going on several missions.

Bruce was over in the dining room as he walked over.

"Find anything?" He asked. Bruce looked up from the papers in front of his before he took his glasses off his face.

"Sorry Steve, I don't have anything new on Kate." He says. Steve let out a breath before nodding.

"So right now you're telling me that there's no way to change her back." Steve says to Bruce. He was leaning forward on the counter while Bruce was standing on the other side of the table.

"There is still a chance we'll find out how to reverse it, but we don't know. She might wake up one morning as her normal self, but again... we just don't know." Bruce says. Steve nodded.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" He asked as Kate ran past behind him. Bruce hesitated before smirking.

"Enjoy the terrible twos, Steve" Bruce says as he walks to the elevator. Steve nods before stopping and furrowing his eyebrows.

"Wait, the terrible what?" He asked; walking out to the middle of the communal floor in front of the elevator. Bruce didn't respond as the door closed. Steve was left standing in the middle of the floor when Kate was about to run past him. She pushed herself up the little step before toddling across the dining room floor.

Steve looked down as she ran past him. She ran over to the dining room table and crawled underneath it. Seconds later her head peaks out and she makes a laugh-like bubble noise.

He smiles before she giggled and hid back under the table. He waited a few seconds before walking the opposite way around the counter. He quietly walked over before he was standing beside the dining room table and heard a little giggle.

He quickly dropped to the ground and saw her hiding under a chair. She squealed in surprised before crawling out and running for the couch.

Steve couldn't help but smile in amusement before he followed her. She looked back and a little gasp escaped her mouth before she pulled herself onto the couch.

"What are you doing?" He chuckled. She picked up a pillow pretty much as big as her before hiding behind it with a giggle; it almost covered her except for her feet. He laughed before walking over and hiding behind the couch. A few seconds later she peaked out and looked around. Letting the pillow fall over she pushed herself up so she was standing on the couch cushion.

Steve smirked before waiting a few more seconds; taking his shield off his back and placing it next to him behind the couch. He then stood up behind the couch and picked her up. She jumped and let out a little squeal-like scream as he lifted her high in the air before letting himself fall back onto the couch with her. She giggled before trying to crawl out of his grip.

"Where do you think you're going?!" He laughed before he started tickling her. She giggled before letting out a high pitched laugh; squirming around as he was tickling her.

"Well aren't you two just adorable" Pepper said as she walked out of the elevator with her purse. Steve stopped ticking her and looked up before cracking a smile. He then realized he was still wearing his helmet. He unbuckled it before taking it off and placing it on the floor in front of the couch.

"Just havin a little fun" He says with a shrug. Kate had wiggled out of his grip and was crawling towards the other side of the couch. Steve looked over and let himself fall back onto the couch so he could grab her. She let out a little scream as he pulled her over so that she was lying somewhat next to him and he started tickling her again.

~0~

**LATER THAT NIGHT…**

After a long day of playing and doing absolutely nothing productive, Kate was lying on the couch with a pillow under her head; watching the movie Cars. She yawned and blinked very slowly. Steve sitting next to her when he looked over and down at her; seeing her falling asleep.

"Looks like someone's ready for bed" he says; seeing her trying to stay awake. She sniffled before looking up at him and shaking her head; trying to keep her head up as she sat up.

He stood up before picking her up and walking toward the elevator. By the time he got to her room she was asleep on his shoulder. He turned the light on in her room before walking over and setting her on the bed.

"Time for bed" Steve said; pulling the covers up for her. Suddenly she was wide awake again and gave the pouty lip before shaking her head. He smirked. "No? It's not time for bed?" She giggled before shaking her head.

"Na" she said; giving him a toothy smile. He chuckled before sitting on the side of the bed. Then she yawned again.

"Well, that yawn says otherwise." He says; pulling the covers up 'til she grabbed them and was hugging the covers to her chin. He got up and walked for the door and turned the light off.

"Na!" She yelled. He turned; standing next to the light switch. He was smirking until he saw her scared face in the light of the hallway. She whimpered before hugging her covers. He furrowed his eyebrows before he realized what was wrong.

"You're afraid of the dark" he says more to himself; looking down, on hand resting on his side above his waist line.

He sighed before walking to the side of the room; sitting down in the chair. Kate sniffled; looking around the room as if she still wasn't pleased.

"I-I firsty" She says. He furrows his eyebrows before it rang a bell with what she meant.

"Oh, you're thirsty" He says; getting up. He walked over to the door and turned to light on. "I'll be right back" He says. She giggles.

"Okee" She whispers. He smiles before leaving the room.

Steve made it down to the communal floor a couple minutes later before he grabbed a cup from the cupboard; walking over to the fridge. He filled it halfway before turning around when he stopped. Kate was standing in front of him with her green blanket in her grasp.

He smirks before raising an eyebrow. "Oh, I see how it is." He says; making her giggled, followed by "ahhhhhh!" in a whisper.

Kate jumped in the air before running over to the couch; pulling herself up and sitting on the couch cushion. She repeatedly hit the spot next to her for him to come over. He chuckled before walking over; placing the cup on the coffee table; sitting next to her.

"You wanna sleep down here?" He asked; looking down at her as she was wrapped in her little green blanket. She gave him a cheesy smile before nodding. He sighed before lying back.

"Alrighty then" He says. She waves her arms before squealing with joy…. Very loudly.

"Shhhh" He puts a finger to his lips. She stops and then mimics him.

"Shhhhhhh!" She says back; a bit louder. He smirks before laying his head back. "SHHHHH!" She says very loudly.

"Good night Kate" He says a bit louder; trying to get her to quiet down; closing his eyes. Seconds later Kate scooted a bit closer…. And a bit closer…. And a bit more before crawling over to him and wriggling under his left arm. He opened his eyes; looking down at her as she was looking up at him.

"Shhh" She puts a finger to her lips; making him smile before he closed his eyes; laying back again. "Goo night dada" She mumbles. He hesitated before opened his eyes again; looking down at her seeing that she had closed her eyes and was lying in the nook of his arm, just about asleep. He smiled again; letting that sink in before he closed his eyes again.

~0~

There was a sudden flash of light that made Steve jump as he opened his eyes; seeing Pepper holding up a camera.

"Oh- sorry!" She whispered; everyone else was standing behind her. Steve furrowed his eyebrows before putting a hand through his hair and taking a deep breath; closing his eyes and rubbing his face with his hand.

"Why are you taking pictures of me sleeping?" He asked; sounding tired and pissed off already.

"Because Kate's with you" she says like it was obvious. His eyes opened again before he looked down; seeing Kate was still sound asleep in the nook of his arm; rapped in her little green blanket.

"I almost forgot about that..." He says; letting out a breath. Steve carefully slid his left arm out from around Kate before standing up.

"You're late for your mission" Clint says. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth like he was going to speak.

"How long?" He asked.

"You're about….. 3 hours late" He says with a smirk. Steve doesn't bother nodding before he speeded for the elevator. Clint smirked again after he left.

"He still doesn't realize that he needs me to download the info on his mission…" He trails off. Natasha turns to him before shaking her head and elbowing him in the ribs. "Ow!-" He laughed before she rolled her eyes and followed Pepper into the kitchen.

~0~

Steve walked out of the elevator and onto the communal floor in his stealth suit; quickly walking over to where Clint was; taking his shield off his back and leaning it against the counter.

"Is it ready?" He asked in a pissed off tone. Clint looked up and nodded.

"Yeah, let me just finish downloading it" He replies; trying to hide his smirk. He eventually had to call Steve and tell him he kinda needed to mission debrief for what he was about to do.

Steve nods; talking his helmet off and putting it on the table as he leaned on it with one arm.

Clint typed something in before a loading bar came up.

"You really need a haircut Cap" he says suddenly; not looking up.

"Excuse me?" He asked; looking confused. Clint looks up quickly before looking back at the screen.

"You need to get rid of that old fashioned haircut, you're wearing this badass suit here and when you take off the helmet-" he gestures his hand up at him. Steve gave him a look as if he had two heads before shaking his head and closing his eyes for a moment.

"He's right Steve, you should get that cut" Natasha smirks; walking to the other side of the counter from where they were. "Not saying it doesn't look good, but change isn't always a bad thing." She adds. Steve huffs; looking up at her before looking back at the screen.

"Why would I do that exactly?" He asked; not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Not saying you have to but you shoul-"

"I'll do it when you're sleeping if you don't get it cut after this mission." Clint interrupts her. Steve looks over at him with a warning glare before rolling his eyes. "You think I'm kidding?!" Clint laughed. Steve sent him another glare before looking back at the screen.

"He's not kidding Steve, just make him happy" Natasha says; taking a sip of her beer that she grabbed out of the fridge.

Clint takes out the flash drive and hands it to him. He takes it before putting his helmet back on; walking for the door.

"When you get back you better look different!" Clint yells as he walks out; putting his shield on his back as he went.

~0~

**THE NEXT DAY…**

It was about 11am when Kate was running around the communal floor with Steve's old Captain America helmet that he hadn't used in a while; the one he wore during the battle of New York.

"Get the camera!" Clint laughed; sitting on the couch. Pepper was on her laptop; working on something for work when she glanced up briefly.

"Why do you need the-" She started and then looked up. "Oh my gosh, I'm getting the camera!" She said excitedly; getting up and speeding into the kitchen.

"I dada" she said; her voice echoing into the helmet; it was turning left and right; obviously too big as it pretty much engulfed her head. Clint was leaning on his fist before he let out a whispering laugh.

"Oh my god you just missed what she said!" He clapped his hands together.

"Yeah she missed it... but I got it" Natasha says from the bar stool; she lowered her phone with a smirk.

Pepper walked over with the camera before snapping a few pictures.

"You are just too cute kid" Clint laughs as Pepper takes one more picture before sitting down and looking through them. Seconds later the elevator door opened and Steve walked out. Clint was still laughing when he looked up.

"You get the hair cut?" Clint asked; getting serious, and immediately stopped laughing. Steve huffed before he heard a giggle as Kate ran across the floor in front of his with his helmet on her head. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly before cracking a smile.

"You missed what she said earlier." Natasha said with a smile. Steve picked her up and she made the "Weeeeeeeee!" noise again.

"Why, what'd she say?" He asked; most of his attention on Kate as he was holding her.

"Now's not the time for that. Did you get the haircut?" Clint demanded humorously. Steve let out a breath before adjusting Kate into his other arm before unclipping his helmet; taking it off.

It got really quiet and Clint was the first to let out a breath.

"Wow, I didn't think you would take it that seriously." Clint says. Steve gives him a look.

"Don't listen to him Steve, it looks good" Pepper says with a smile.

"Yeah, thanks Pepper" he says; sounding almost a bit amused. His hair was pushed up its so that it you could almost say it was somewhat spiky. And it looked a bit lighter in color since it used to be pushed down; looking darker before. It was pushed out and forward.

"I gotta say, I'm surprised. It does actually look pretty good" Natasha says with a smirk. Steve only rolls his eyes before putting his attention back on Kate.

She was hitting his shield on his back again when she looked up; seeing his hair. She looked very confused.

"Oh my god, this is hilarious." Clint laughed. "I don't think she recognizes you!" He laughed.

Kate touches his hair before using both her hands to touch the rim of his hair that was sticking up a little ways. Steve looked up; almost cross-eyed; seeing her very amused with his hair.

"Oh my god, get the camera again-" Clint nodded to Pepper. But she was already snapping pictures.

Steve looked back down; rolling his eyes before Pepper lowered the camera; looking over the pictures with a smile.

**Hope you liked this chap everyone! Lots of bonding and some humor :) Please review if you liked it! **


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

**I'm happy you all liked the last chapter ;) It's truly amazing that I get to read what you all have to say about it, and although it may seem like everyone says this; it really means a lot when you guys review what you think. And Juliet Gray, I love reading your reviews; it really means so much to me, what you say in those so I want to say Thank You! :) I hope you all enjoy this chapter :) Things start getting a bit crazy through the next few chapters…. XD**

Tony was working on his suit when he heard a giggle and looked up; seeing Kate toddling into the lab.

He let out a sigh before looking back at his suit. She was babbling in her baby talk; running around the lab.

"Kiddo, how did you even get down here?" Tony asked; knowing she wouldn't respond anyway. Little Kate only ran over to where he was; making bubble noises; almost like she was sticking her tongue out and spitting.

"Badle blabdle ba-" she kept mumbling gibberish by the time she got over to where he was.

He was sitting on a stool; tweaking the glove when he suddenly felt something on his leg. Tony looked down and saw her hugging his leg; giggling.

"Uh, kid. I need some space here-" He started; looking back up at his suit. Then he heard a whimper and hesitated before glancing down; seeing her giving him the pouty lip. He finally let out a breath before getting up and getting a chair from the other counter. He brought it over to the stool and placed them beside each other.

Kate pulled herself into the chair with a smile before plopping down while Tony took a seat on the stool again. He grabbed the wrench to his right before tightening a bolt; noticing Kate watching intently.

"What's goin on down here?" Clint asked as he walked out of the elevator. Tony glanced up briefly.

"Nothing really, just workin on the suits." He says; his attention on the glove. Kate looked over at Clint and giggled. He walked over and smirked; ruffling up her hair as he made it to the opposite side of the counter.

"Where's Spangles at?" Tony asked. Clint shrugged.

"I think Sam called some time yesterday, so he's going to go see her and explain all…." He looked at Kate who was giggling and making a very happy "heeeeheeeee!" noise. "Well, this" He finishes. "Here I'll take her upstairs" Clint says; picking her up.

"Have fun" Tony says with a smirk.

~0~

**MEANWHILE…. **

Sam opened her front door; seeing Steve standing there with his hands in his pockets. She furrowed her eyebrows for a moment before opening the door all the way.

"Holy crap! What's with the haircut!?" She looked shocked. He rolled his eyes with a smirk before getting serious again. Sam narrowed her eyes; trying to figure out why he would be there. "Oh god, what hospital is she in now?" She groaned. Steve couldn't help but smirk at the fact that if he showed up at her apartment alone this was her first thought.

"Well... She's not in a hospital-" Steve starts.

"But you're not denying that something's wrong." Sam finishes with a sigh. Steve hesitated before answering.

"I'll tell you on the way," He says. "Got a few hours to spare?" He asked. Sam nodded.

"Yeah I'm working the late shift tonight," she says before walking out and closing the door behind her.

~0~

Sam followed Steve into the elevator before the door closed and it jolted as it began moving up.

"Should I like- prepare myself for this?" She asked. He smirked before looking down at the floor.

"Depends" Steve replies. Sam hesitated before opening her mouth to speak.

"On what exactly?" He couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"You'll see" he says before the door opened and the first thing they say was a little Kate running across the floor with Clint chasing after her.

"Get back here!" Clint said as Kate giggled before running around the couch and back into the kitchen. Sam's jaw dropped as she saw her best friend the size of a toddle.

"Oh my god, what the hell happened to her" She blurted out.

"Experiment at SHIELD gone wrong" Steve replies; crossing his arms. Sam nods after a few seconds; still staring at the little Kate running around.

"Oh!- hey, has she called you daddy yet?" Sam turned to him. He smirks; giving her a "really?" Look. "Hey, just asking" she puts her hands up. Steve shakes his head; obviously amused before looking over at Kate

"Sort of" he says; tilting his head slightly to the side. Kate giggled again as she ran over to where they were. She stopped and looked up at Sam and Steve before smiling.

"Besssssteeee" She drew out before pointing at Sam. Sam put a hand to her chest and opened her mouth like she wanted to speak up, giving a touched look; turning to Steve.

"She's adorable!" She whispered. "This may be kinda weird, but can I hold her?" Steve nodded with a smirk before Sam picked Kate up. She made the "weeee!" noise as usual.

"Hey Cap, Fury wants us for a mission" Clint says. Steve looks over at him; walking over to where he was.

"Where?"

"He wants me, you, and Nat back in Australia since we didn't ever get there after Kate woke up" He says. Steve lets out a breath before nodding; looking over at Kate in Sam's arms. He scratched the back of his head; deep in thought. He didn't know whether to leave her here with Tony and Bruce or not. Pepper was on a business trip and Thor, Jane, and Darcy wouldn't be coming back to the tower until next week.

"Could I babysit?!" Sam asked excitedly. They both looked over at her; furrowing their eyebrows.

"You would babysit her until we get back?" Steve asked. She nodded quickly.

"Definitely! I'm taking the evening shifts for the rest of the week so you guys wouldn't have to worry about her during the day. And she'll be sleeping most of the evening anyway." Sam says. "Me and Kate used to babysit all the time before the warehouse" Sam smiles. Steve looked hesitant; putting a hand through his hair.

"I don't know Sam, I could probably get-"

"C'mon Cap'n! Please!" Sam laughed. He raised an eyebrow before taking a deep breath.

"Alright fine, but you gotta make sure she doesn't get into trouble" He says. Sam quickly nods; looking back at Kate as she put her down. The little Kate ran over to the couch before pulling herself up onto it.

~0~

**AN HOUR LATER…**

Sam was playing hide-and-seek with Kate when Steve, Clint, and Natasha walked out of the elevator in their suits. Sam peaked under the table before looking behind the couch.

"What are you looking for?" Steve asked; walking over to where his shield was; leaning against the counter.

"Kate-" Sam starts. Steve stopped in his tracks; making Sam chuckle. "We're playing hid-and-seek" She adds. He then nods; understanding. Suddenly he felt a tug on his leg and looked down; seeing Kate looking up at him with a giggle. "There you are!" Sam laughed; looking over.

Steve smiled before Kate looked over to her right; seeing his shield leaning against the counter. She toddled over and grabbed the top rim over it; dragging it over to him as she struggled to lift it; making an "oof!" sound as she tried. He smiled before taking it from her and putting it on his back.

"When are you guys getting back?" Sam asked.

"We should be back in a couple a days. Not too long; this is ok with your parent's right, they know?" Steve asked. Sam nodded immediately.

"Of course they do. I just told them that your little cousin was here, I don't think they would believe what actually happened." Sam smirked. They all nodded.

"So what do you think you guys will do when we're gone?" Natasha asked. Steve had knelt down next to Kate as she was talking.

"Hopefully some fun stuff" Sam laughed.

"Dada" Kate smiled; holding onto his leg as he was kneeling down. He smiled again before picking her up.

"How my god they are so cute" Sam whispered; slowly pulling out her phone and sneaking a picture when Steve wasn't looking. Kate leaned her head on his shoulder as he was hugging her. Mostly everyone could tell he was on edge about leaving her at the Tower for a couple days.

"Don't worry Spangles, we'll take care of her" Tony said as he walked out of the elevator and into the kitchen. Steve let out a breath; knowing that something was bound to happen. He smiled as he put Kate back on the ground and they turned to walk for the elevator.

Sam was about to walk over to Kate when she whimpered and toddled after Steve; holding out her arms for him to pick her up again. He turned around first, and then Natasha and Clint did.

"Oh no, something tells me this is going to be an annual thing." Clint mumbles with a smirk. Steve signed before picking her up again.

Kate had watery eyes now and had the collar of his suit balled into her little fist; almost as if she was afraid of falling or there was no way she was letting him leave at this point. He smiled before Kate ended up hugging him again.

"You two seriously make me sick, ugh, so much affection" Tony joked from the counter. Steve sent him a glare before he knelt down; putting Kate back on the ground. She had the pouty lip again and sniffled.

"One more hug?" Steve asked; looking amused. She nodded before running back into his arms. Tony made a fake gagging sound in the background in a playful manner; making Clint and Sam chuckle.

Steve pulled out of the hug and ruffled up her hair before kissing the top of her head; standing back up. Clint and Natasha were giving him looks like "that was the most adorable thing I've ever seen"

"Alright we can go now" Steve makes it clear that they better not add any comments. Natasha just gives a nod before they all walked into the elevator. Kate smiled and waved her little hand around frantically. Steve smiled before giving her a little wave as the door closed.

**Hope you liked it! :) Sorry it took me some time to get this up; my internet was being a butthead. XD Please review if you liked and feel free to ask the characters questions in the **_**Questions- A Place to Call Home. **_**And if you still don't know what that is the instructions are in the first "chapter" **_**  
**_**Hope you enjoyed it! I will try to update as soon as possible, you guys are so awesome and really inspire me to make this story the best I can :) Love you all! XD**


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53

**Hey guys! Sorry it took me some time to update this, I was having a bit of writers block with this chap, hope you enjoy! **

"Kate, get back here!" Sam yelled as she chased the little Kate over into the kitchen. Kate giggled and opened a cupboard under the counter and crawling inside. Sam knelt down; looking into the dark cupboard when she heard an echoing giggle.

It was a day after Steve, Natasha, and Clint left. They would be back some time the next day.

"Where is she now?" Tony asked as he walked out of the elevator.

"Under the counter" Sam says. Tony gives her a strange look; furrowing his eyebrows. Sam walks over to the other side of the counter and opens another cabinet; seeing Kate as she pops her head out. She giggled before crawling out and running over to the couch. "Jesus kid you got a lot of energy" Sam breathed before following her; walking over to the closest couch and letting herself fall onto it; closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath before letting it out.

Kate giggled before walking up and grabbing Sam's arm and shaking it.

"Hi 'n' seek!" She yelled; jumping up and down. Sam laughed before nodding.

"Alrighty, we'll play _again_!" She smiled; turning around and covering her eyes. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…" Sam was continued to count when Kate ran towards the stairwell; going up.

~0~

"Ninety nine; one hundred! Ready or not here I come!" Sam called before turning around. Tony had already left and went back to the lab. Bruce was sitting at the counter; sipping his tea.

"Good luck finding her" Bruce said from the counter. Sam rolled her eyes.

"I can't see it being that hard" She chuckled; looking under the dining room table before standing up.

**AN HOUR LATER…**

"Kaaaaaaattteeeee" Sam groaned; walking out of the spare room. Bruce was right, she was good at hiding. _Kate had mentioned that she was good for undercover missions where she did a lot of hiding; this is probably why._ Sam thought.

She walked down the hall and after sweeping Kate's room she was about to walk by Steve's room; seeing the door was open. She raised an eyebrow before slowly pushing the door open; looking around. To her right was the bed and two nightstands were on either side. A desk was to her immediate right. (Her 3-o-clock) At her 11-o-clock there was the door to the bathroom and the closets were on the wall right before you got to the bathroom door. The windows were straight ahead; somewhat lining the fall wall.

"Kate… come out come out wherever you are" Sam chuckled. She walked over to the right side of the bed and got down on her hands and knees; looking under.

Nothing

She frowned before looking up; glancing at the nightstand slightly. She smiled at the picture that she saw on the nightstand. It was a picture of Kate with Steve. She was leaning her head on his shoulder and he hand an arm around her.

Sam smiled to herself before pushing herself to her feet; once again looking around the room.

"Where could she be?" She asked herself. Suddenly she heard a little giggle. Sam grinned before walking over to the closet.

"Oh I wonder where Kate could be!" Sam spoke up a bit louder. She heard the giggle again and opened the closet door. "Boo!-" She looked down into the closet.

Nothing

"Well that's odd" She mumbled to herself. Sam looked around the room; letting her eyes trail over it. "Kate…?" She called. Suddenly there was a crash that came from the hall and crying. Sam ran out and into the hall; seeing a broken vase on the floor with a crying Kate. "Oh no-"Sam quickly walked over; seeing that she cut up her arms a bit. "Aw, c'mon Sanders" She muttered before picking Kate up.

Kate was still crying as she picked her up.

"Alright let's get you to Bruce" She said before walking down the hall with the little Kate still crying.

~0~

**A COUPLE MINUTES LATER…**

Bruce was in the lab when suddenly Sam burst out of the stairwell and ran over to him.

"Kate shifted!" She yelled. Bruce immediately looked up with a concerned look.

"How bad?" He asked; walking over.

"Bad." Sam makes clear before they both run for the elevator.

About a minute later they made it to the communal floor and saw it was a wreck and a wolf puppy was making a mess.

"Oh god…." Bruce breathed. The wood was chewed the couches were torn to shreds, the floor was chewed and pulled up; the wood floor that is. Everything was a wreck. The wine bottles were broken and blood-red wine was all over the floor at the bar.

"Don't tell him" Sam breathed. Bruce couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Kate I think Steve is gonna find out one way or another-"

"Not him. Tony" She whispered. Bruce had to laugh at that. And if it wasn't well timed; Tony walked out of the elevator.

"Hey guys wha- what the hell!?" He stopped; seeing that a wolf puppy was destroying everything.

"Don't get all worked up Tony-." Bruce chuckled.

"I'm so calling Capsical on this," He starts; pulling out his phone.

~0~

Natasha dodged a bullet; rolling behind a wall to her right. They were in Australia at the moment; finishing up with the mission Fury had them go on.

"Hawkeye-." She put her com to her ear; peaking over the wall.

"_Yeah Nat" _

"Need some backup right about now" She replied; looking over to the building in view, a couple blocks away. She heard him huff through the com.

"_Can't get to you, I think Steve's a bit closer" _

Natasha blew the hair from her face; looking to her left before nodding to herself; pushing herself to her feet and running for better cover.

**MEANWHILE…**

Steve threw his shield towards two men. It hit the first in the chest and caught the other guy in the side before being deflected off the building behind them. He ran by and caught it before running down a different road.

_"Steve, I got him in my sights, want me to take the shot?" _ Clint's voice sounded over the com.

"No, use a tranq" Steve replied. "Fury wants him alive"

~0~

Tony frowned; taking the phone away from his ear.

"Hm… looks like there out in the field, time for Plan B" He started pushing several different things into his phone. Sam furrowed her eyebrows; glancing at Bruce was a slightly concerned look.

"What's he gonna do?" Sam whispered; flinching as they heard glass shattering behind them and a bark.

"God only knows" Bruce mumbles; crossing his arms.

~0~

**AN HOUR LATER…**

Clint lowered his bow; grinning before speaking into his com.

"I got em Cap; package is waiting to be picked up a few feet away from you.

…

Steve furrowed his eyebrows before hearing a thud; glancing to his right seeing a body. Steve huffed and rolled his eyes; walking over to the guy and turning him over; stopping. He immediately saw the scares on his face.

They were claw marks.

He clenched his jaw; knowing they were probably from Kate when she was at the warehouse.

"Ok guys, mission accomplished" Steve said into his com before throwing the guy over his shoulder; walking towards the quinjet that was around the corner. Suddenly there was an extremely loud ringing and Steve let out a small cry and accidently dropped the guy he was holding.

"_Oops, sorry Cap'n" _

Steve stopped; standing up right.

"Stark?" He questioned in confusion.

"_Yep, that's me, now we have a-"_

"What the hell Stark!?" Steve yelled; getting the guy over his shoulder again.

"_I know, I know I'm sorry Rogers, but Kate seems to have lost her cool and is tearing my tower apart" _Tony says. Steve stops again; a sudden look of fear crossed his face before he got serious again.

"How bad, is she ok?" He asked; sounding a bit worried as he hurried towards the jet.

"_Well I don't know how badly; I can't see anything in the room that's not damaged. And the kid looks fine so far"_

"I'm heading back now" He makes clear; getting up the ramp; seeing that Natasha and Clint were ready to go.

~0~

**A COUPLE HOURS LATER…**

Steve, Clint, and Natasha walked out of the elevator; stopping in their footsteps immediately. The communal floor was a wreck. They all had their mouths open like they wanted to speak.

Suddenly a small wolf puppy ran around the corner and over to them.

"Hey" Steve said playfully as the puppy ran up. It whined; its tail wagging as Steve knelt down; taking his helmet off and putting it down next to him. The puppy put its front paws up on his knees; wagging its tail in excitement.

"Thank, God" Sam said; walking around the corner. Steve looked up as Bruce and Tony came around following Sam.

"That kid is a wild one" Bruce chuckled; nodding to the puppy. Suddenly the puppy shifted back into a little Kate. She giggled and hugged Steve's knee.

"Dada!" She squealed; hiding her face in her dark curly hair. Steve smiled before picking her up; seeing a cuts on her arms.

"What happened?" She asked; looking at Kate.

"She knocked over a vase in the hall when we were playing hide 'n' seek. She's fine otherwise, just a couple scrapes" Sam says quietly. Steve nodded after a couple seconds. "I'm so sorry Steve, I didn't think that-"

"Its fine Sam, I should have warned you about a few different things before I left, its ok" Steve assures before looking at Kate again who was smiling. She opened her mouth and hesitated before sneezing; making everyone chuckle.

**I know this chapter was a bit boring everyone…. :| Sorry bout that! But I will make sure to have the next few a bit more interesting, school been preventing me from getting anything up! XD**

**BIG ANNOUNCMENT! PLEASE READ THE MESSAGE BELOW**

**Ok, so I have some plans for another Avenger story, I will continue writing this of course! Kate's story will not be ending any time soon, don't you all start worrying. My Rebel Reboot series will be coming to a close soon so my new story I have planned, I will be putting up hopefully within the month, I will keep you updated on whether I'll be putting the story up or not :) As of right now it's just some dry ideas, but I'm hoping it has some potential :) If you have any more questions about the story-to-be (hopefully a story to be XD) then you can PM me or put it in the reviews :) **


	54. Chapter 54

Chapter 54

**Hey everyone! I am so, so, so sorry for not updating in a bit. I did decide to publish the story (Safe Haven) and give it a try, as you all can see :) I'm glad I have a few people that have reviewed it, and if you haven't checked it out, than I encourage you to! :D Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter!**

It had been a couple days since Steve, Natasha, and Clint had gotten back. Kate was a bit more emotional and had been shifting more frequently… and annoying the heck out of everyone.

It was about 4:45am when Steve felt a very dull pain on his fingers. He let out a breath before opening his eyes and turning slightly; seeing a wolf puppy nipping his fingers.

"Kate, why can't you just sleep in..." He mumbled; trailing off. The wolf pup let out a squeaky bark and flinched at the voice before pouncing on his arm; biting him.

He couldn't help but smirk before he sat up; rubbing his face; still obviously tired.

She let out another squeaky bark before jumping onto her hind legs and falling against his right arm; biting the sleeve of his short-sleeved undershirt; letting out a cute growl as she shook her head around.

Steve quietly put his hands to his face in a tired manner before taking a deep breath and looking out the window; seeing it was still dark.

"Jarvis" He spoke up.

"_It seems that Kate had a nightmare approximately 12 minutes ago, Captain Rogers" _Jarvis spoke up. Steve nodded to himself after a few seconds; looking down at the wolf puppy that was now dive-bombing the sheets on his bed with a playful growl that was a bit high-pitched; making it too cute to be intimidating.

Kate had been having a rough couple days. No matter what it was; if she got too upset or scared then she would end up shifting. Usually it was a wolf pup, but two other times it she had shifted in a black leopard cub.

Seconds later Kate shifted back into her cute little self and she was sitting criss-cross and hugging her feet and swaying back and forth. She giggled before looking up at Steve. He smiled before getting up and out of bed. She giggled again before lowering herself off the bed and running over to the right side of his bed and grabbing his shield by the top rim and dragging it around again.

He sighed; putting a hand through his hair; furrowing his eyebrows, watching her drag his shield out of his room and down the hall.

"It's gonna be a long day" He mumbles to himself.

~0~

The day had gone by very slowly, it was only 9am. Clint was sitting sideways in the armchair while Kate and Steve were sitting on the couch; watching TV. Clint continued to flip through channels when Kate let out a little gasp.

"Kitty!" She yelled; pointing before looking over at Steve. He looked down at her before furrowing his eyebrows; looking at the screen.

"Hey Clint, go back a few channels" He says; sitting up a bit. Clint glanced at him before giving a nod. After a few seconds he flipped to a channel; making Kate squeal before clapping her hands together.

Clint smirked before putting down the remote. "Oh!- hey it's Monsters Inc.!" He laughed. They were at the part where Boo got loose in the restaurant and was being a complete terror. Steve smirked when he saw Kate get excited as she started shaking in her seat with excitement. "You know what, she reminds me of Boo too." Clint chuckles. "She has the whole cute but crazy personality…" Clint trails off with a smirk.

"Boo?" Steve asked in confusion. "Who's Boo?" As Steve asked that Kate stopped giggling and looked up at him. She gave him a betrayed look and pouted. Clint put a hand to his mouth to keep himself from laughing. Kate mumbled gibberish under her breath before getting off the couch and walking closer to the TV sitting on the floor and watching the movie; causing Steve to furrow his eyebrows and put his hands in the air in a confused manner.

Clint couldn't contain his laughter anymore and started chuckling and snickering. Steve looked over at him.

"Boy… she hates you now" Clint laughed. Steve still looked confused but ended up smirking before hurling a pillow at him. Clint ducked and mumbled under his breath; looking back at the movie.

~0~

**LATE THAT NIGHT… **

Steve had just come back down stairs from putting Kate to bed. He had been up there for a couple hours. The day had been pretty crazy; Kate and Steve had a pillow fight. Clint ended up joining, so of course the communal floor ended up being covered in feathers. Tony got the cleaning crew up before Pepper got home as well.

Everyone was on the communal floor, excluding Bruce who was on the carrier. They were taking some time for some peace and quiet.

"So what did Bruce say?" Pepper asked; sipping her coffee. She had gotten home around 4 hours ago. It was 10pm. Steve sat down on the stool at the counter after he had walked out of the elevator.

"Still nothing on the machine." He replies.

"But, they'll fix it... Right?" Clint asked; walking over and grabbing a beer from the fridge. Steve shrugged.

"Let's hope so" he says.

"I'm sure they'll get it working again, Steve. The students know what they're doing." Natasha says from the stool to his right. He let out a breath before shaking his head before making a comment in a slightly pissed off tone.

"Did they know what they were doing when the shrunk my daught-" he stopped himself and saw everyone look over at the same time with 'omg' looks. Steve looked around at everyone and took in a breath to speak again when Clint held up a hand for him to not say anything. He looked over at him with his mouth still partially open, waiting to speak. Clint took out his phone and started typing something.

"Aaaannnnddd… SHIELD wide text was just sent that you called Kate your daughter" He says before looking up from his phone; smirking. Steve looked over at him with a bit of a glare before letting it drop as he put a hand through his hair; letting out a breath.

"Anyone else _not_ see this coming" Tony asked; looking around.

"I so saw this coming I wish I got it on video" Pepper said; sipping her coffee again. Steve rolls his eyes after a few seconds.

Suddenly there was a scream from upstairs. Everyone's head's shot up.

"That's Kate-" Steve said quickly before he was up and everyone was following as they ran for the stairs. Steve was much farther ahead as he grabbed his shield in his room and ran towards Kate's room. He went to open the door; seeing it was already open.

He quickly pushed it open and froze; the room was torn apart; and Kate wasn't in the bed. Suddenly there was movement and he saw a guy get up and run for the window; jumping out. He quickly ran to the window; looking down seeing the guy had landed on some kind of aircraft.

"Kate?!" He called before he frantically started looking around for a way down the building when he heard someone crying. He stopped before quickly looked around; walking toward the closet. He grabbed the knob and turned it; realizing the door was jammed. He didn't hesitate; giving it a hard pull; snapping the hinges before he picked the door up and put it aside against the wall.

He looked down and saw Kate curled up in the corner of the closet; hugging her stuffed snow leopard and burying her face into it as she was crying.

He knelt down; letting his shield slide off his arm onto the floor before Kate got up and ran into his arms.

She was still crying when he picked her up and hugged her tightly before everyone else ran into the room. They all stopped; looking around.

"Is she ok?" Clint asked immediately; a gun in hand. Steve nodded; looking relieved but still a bit shaken up. Natasha walked across the room and looked out the window, also with a gun in hand; seeing the aircraft flying away.

"What was that?" Pepper asked; seeing it fly around a building before disappearing.

"I think the better question is why they broke into Kate's room and what were they looking for." Natasha says; finally turning away from the window and looking over at Steve who was still hugging Kate.

…

After a few minutes Steve came back down to the communal floor. Natasha, Tony, Bruce, and Pepper were watching over Kate. They called Bruce about what happened and he came back. Steve put her in his room for the rest of the night. Natasha made sure she had at least four different weapons on her, and Tony put the Tower on high alert, Jarvis would announce any change.

Clint was looking at a few files on his SHIELD laptop for anyone with a good enough reason to go after Kate. He looked up as Steve walked over; his shield still in hand.

"How's she holding up?" He asked. Steve shook his head as he got over.

"Still shaken up, but she's a bit better" Steve says as he got over; taking a seat at the counter; putting his shield against the side of the counter. Clint was on the opposite side of the counter; leaning against it while on his laptop.

"You seem more shaken up than her" Clint says; a bit amused before looking over the rim of his laptop at him before looking back down. Steve was looking off; lost in thought when he sat up; shaking his head again, barely.

"I know when she was shot… I was scared" He says; still looking down at the counter. "But what just happened, I don't think I've ever been that scared before in my life" He says. Clint looked back up at him for a couple seconds.

"Well… you should be" He says back. "I know I was" He says with a smirk. Steve gave a nod after a couple seconds.

"Got anything else on this guy?" He asked; sitting up again. Clint looked back at his laptop.

"Yeah, there was a guy that helped run the warehouse; something tells me that he was behind this." Clint says; getting serious again. He was typing something else in. Steve blinked a couple of times; getting into the conversation.

"Got a name, location, something-" Steve started.

"Chill out Capsicle, I'm working as fast as I can" Clint says back. Steve just nods; looking around a few times, eyeing a few of the windows before he heard Clint chuckle.

"Relax Steve, she's fine" He says, Steve nods after a few seconds.

"Just find out who did this" Steve says before getting up and heading back for the stairs after he picked his shield up. Clint doesn't bother responding as he was looking over his computer again.

**I hope you liked the chapter :) Please review if you liked it I love you all so, so, so, so much and just knowing that I have your support throughout this story means everything to me. Now I would love for some of you to give ideas for little Kate if you have any! :) Now I do have to put a small limitation on them, they can't be ideas that would take up more than like two chapters, just cute moments that can be in accordance to a chapter. :D Again, I hope you liked this chapter and if you haven't already, (I know I'm telling you this again XD) check out my newest story: Safe Haven. **

**Until next time! :) **


	55. Chapter 55

Chapter 55

**Hey guys! XD I hope you all love this chapter, please review if you liked! ;) OH! I SAW AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON! And I don't know what everyone thought of it but there were a couple things I had problems with. One: Clint is not allowed to be married and have kids :( Two: Bruce and Natasha don't hook up. Three: Steve Rogers is NOT allowed to cuss... Period. All who agree with any of these please say that you agree. XD**

**I know I can't change it, of course I still loved the movie (it was amazing) and I support it all the way. :) **

**Juliet and Molly: Molly, that sounds like an interesting story! I definitely think that you should give it a shot; see where it goes **

**BlackWidow2531: Sounds like a cool story! Now if you don't have an account I know the easiest way of making one. (I did this for my original fanfiction account that I don't use anymore) I made a quick Gmail account that I could use temporarily when trying out Fanfiction. I was still new to the site at that time and I think that making a Gmail account to sign up on this site would be a good first start while publishing your first story! :) It's free so that's the good news XD**

**Ok, ok I'll shut up now and give you your chapter! YEAH! –sorry XD**

It had been a few days since the incident with Kate. Tony had installed a few sensors in her room to make sure no one got in and sometimes Natasha or Clint would come into her room at night now and again to check on her. Steve usually would stay in the arm chair in her room; despite everyone else telling him to go back to his own room.

Since then Kate had gotten a little better. She was more so afraid of the dark now, and didn't like to be alone most of the time.

Kate was sitting on the couch of the communal floor. It was around 2pm and Natasha and Steve were the only one's there; besides Tony who was in the lab and Pepper who ran to the store.

Kate put her little fist up to her mouth as she coughed into it before going back to coloring a picture. Steve looked over at she did so and gave a brief concerned look. She had been coughing for a day or so now, and seemed to be feeling a bit warm.

Natasha was leaning against the counter in front of him with a book before he got up and walked over. Kate didn't look up from her coloring book when he knelt down slightly beside her and put his hand against her forehead.

She looked up in a confused manner and giggled when she saw him. He took his hand away and smiled before looking over at Natasha.

"Natasha can you hand me the thermometer?" Steve asked; looking over at her. She looked up from her book before nodding; getting up. Steve looked back over at Kate who had gone back to her picture.

Natasha walked over a few seconds later; the thermometer in hand. He got up and took a few steps over; meeting her in the middle of the floor.

"Thanks" He replied to her as he took it. He walked back over to where Kate was. She sat up and coughed again before he kneeled down in front of her. "Open" He says. She pouts before shaking her head. Steve smirked before raising an eyebrow. "Kate, open up" He had the thermometer in hand. She frowned and shook her head; looking away.

Steve looks down and shakes his head; looking over at Natasha who was chucking to herself.

"Kate, open." He says more sternly. She gave him an angry-pout face.

"No" She mumbled; crossing her arms. He narrowed his eyes for a moment before responded.

"You don't open; you're going to bed early." He says sternly with little to no emotion in his expression. She suddenly looked shocked and let out a little gasp in a betrayed manner before she opened her mouth. He smirked before putting the thermometer in her mouth and getting up; quickly walking over to the microwave and getting out the small bowl of soup he heated a bit earlier for her.

Kate was still sitting on the couch before he walked back over. Her legs were dangling off the side; kicking back and forth a bit, and she was looking out the window.

He knelt down again; set the bowl on the table before turning back to Kate; taking the thermometer from her mouth. He let out a huff; seeing the temperature was 103° Fahrenheit.

"You got a fever" He says more to himself. She smiled and giggled. He looked over at her. "Oh, you think this is funny?" He asked; making her giggle louder. He rolled his eyes before standing up; ruffling her hair as he walked by and back into the kitchen. "Eat your soup" He says over his shoulder.

Kate scooted off the couch and reached to grab her chicken noodle soup bowl before bringing it back up onto the couch with her; taking a bite.

Steve sat down at the counter; placing the thermometer down.

"She's got a fever" He says; sounding a bit tired. Natasha looked up from her book; glancing at the thermometer.

"Well she seems to be doing a bit better already, so she'll probably be fine by Monday." Natasha replies. It was Friday. Steve nodded before putting a hand through his hair.

"Anything from Clint?" He asked. Natasha take a sip of her beer before glancing down at her book and back up at Steve.

"No not yet" She says. Clint was on an undercover mission for a while. He said he'd be checking in close to the weekend.

"Dada" Both Natasha and Steve glanced over as Kate toddled into the kitchen with an empty bowl. "Done!" She said before squealing. Steve smiled before getting out of the seat and taking the bowl from here.

"You still want dessert?" He asked; washing the bowl off in the sink before turning to her. She smiled; holding her hands in front of her; swaying.

"Ya" She smiled. He smiled before nodding; getting a small plate of mini chocolate chip cookies before kneeling down and handing it to her. She smiled and made a "haaaaaaaa" noise before running the plate back over to the couch.

"Don't make a mess" He says as she pulled herself onto the couch. Steve sat back down and looked up; seeing Natasha smiling.

"What?" He asked; drinking from his water bottle that was sitting on the counter. She shrugged after a couple seconds.

"I dunno I just never really saw you as a father figure... Until now of course." Natasha said; gripping her book in her hand. Steve hesitated before shrugging a reply.

"A lots changed in the last two weeks" He smirks. Natasha shrugs back with a smirk; looking over at Kate for a moment.

"Do you think she'll remember?" She finally asked. Steve turned slightly; looking over at Kate who was eating off her plate of 4 mini cookies.

"I don't know" He says. "I honestly don't know what would be better, if she remembers or forgets it all" He turns back; facing the counter. Natasha takes another drink of her beer.

"Why is that-?"

"Cap, Fury needs us in stat" Tony says; coming out of the elevator. "Bombing near Central Park." He says. Steve gave a nod before both him and Natasha got up; heading for the elevator when Steve stopped.

"Wait, what about Kate" He spoke up. The two looked over and down at Kate.

"I'll call Pep; get her down here. Now c'mon Rogers we gotta go, or eyepatch will have my head" Tony says before walking back into the elevator. Steve huffed; glancing back at Kate. She looked up from her chocolate chip cookie that she had in her hand.

"I'll be right back honey, ok?" He called. She took a bite of her cookie before nodding. He finally walked into the elevator and let the door close.

...

Steve ran out of the stairwell and onto the communal floor in his stealth suit; looking around for Kate. She suddenly ran from around the counter over to him.

"Hey," He said softly as she ran over; in a bit of a hurry still. She looked scared and he scooped her up into his arms. "Daddy's gotta go, but I'll be back soon ok?" He said softly.

"Ok" She mumbled in her adorable voice. She sniffled and nodded before rapping her arms around his neck in a hug. He hugged her tightly before pulling out of the hug just a bit so he could see her as he talked.

"Pepper's going to come spend some time with you," He says; trying to mask the slightly fear he felt of leaving her alone for a couple minutes.

Kate nodded and rubber her eye with the back of her hand in a slightly tired manner.

He walked her over to the couch and put her down. She snugged into the corner of the couch and he rapped the green blanket around her that was lying on the other side of the couch.

"Wove you dada" She slurred with her adorable voice; causing her to say some words a bit differently. He smiled before using his fingers to comb the hair from her forehead before kissing the top of her head.

"Love you too Katie" He smiled before walking for the door; then stopped. "Jarvis could you keep her occupied until Pepper gets here?"

"As you wish Captain Rogers, shall I put on some Curious George?" Jarvis's voice sounded over the room.

"Sounds good" Steve replied before Kate one more look. She smiled and cuddled in her blanket a bit more; making him smile before he walked for the door.

"Let's go Cap'n" Natasha stuck her head out from the stairwell. Steve gave her a nod before walking out past her. Natasha looked over at Kate and smirked before waving at her. Kate gave her a little wave and smile before she closed the door. Kate hugged her blanket tighter and looked over at the TV as she saw the little monkey that was Curious George on the screen.

~0~

Pepper walked out of the elevator and onto the communal floor; looking around.

"Kate" She said softly; still looking around for the little one. Suddenly a small head poked out from under the table in the dining room. Pepper furrowed her eyebrows when she saw it was a snow leopard head. "Oh Katie," She started. Kate now changed into a snow leopard when she was scared. Suddenly she shifted back and crawled onto a chair that was under the table; sticking her head out again. "I guess you're better now," She said to herself with a smile.

Kate giggled before climbing down from under the dining room chair; running over to her.

"Pep pep pep pep pep" She giggled and said "pep" with every step as she ran over. Pepper picked her up and used her hand to comb her curly hair.

"Don't worry Katie, you and me are gonna have some fun while your daddy's gone!" She smiled; making Kate giggled again.

**Hope you all liked it! :D I know I should have updated a bit sooner but school's almost over and I'm being bombarded with tons of tests and stuff…. Ugh, it's been a nightmare… Anyway, please review if you liked it and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! :)**

**OH! I HAVE SOMETHING ELSE TO SAY!**

**So, I'm debating on whether or not to put a sequel up… what do you all think? Please tell me, because I need as many people as possible to tell me so I can average the amount or decide whatever. You get what I'm saying.**

**I really love writing about Kate and her adventures with this new family of hers but I don't know if I should keep it in this story or I should put it up on a sequel… please help!**


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56

**Hiiiiii! I think you all will enjoy this chapter! I can't contain my excitement! **

**Thank you for those who told me about the sequel; now I think that some of that was lost in translation. I am doing a sequel no matter what. But what I was asking is if I should continue Kate's adventures in A Place to Call Home, or should I continue them in a sequel? Hope that clears it up :) **

**Enjoy the chapter!**

Pepper was sitting on the couch of the communal floor; watching the news. There were several helicopters surrounding the park; getting footage of the incident. One of the cameras on screen zoomed up a bit and Pepper noticed Natasha and Steve directing people out of the area while trying to fight off a few of the bombers.

Kate was sitting on the floor in front of the TV playing with something Pepper had ordered in the mail. She had ordered her a mini Captain America shield for her to play with. It wasn't the same but it still made her happy when she couldn't play with Steve's actual shield.

Pepper took a deep breath as she was watching the live footage on the screen. Although she knew the three of them could handle this situation, she still worried.

"Pep" Kate looked up at Pepper before toddling over and pulling herself onto the couch. Pepper smiled; scooting over a bit so Kate could sit next to her. Pepper's eyes trailed back to the TV as she watched the smoke filling the New York City skyline.

~0~

**MEANWHILE…**

Natasha ran with a couple people as she directed them towards the exit of the park. They dodged some debris and ash it rained down from the bomb that went off to their right.

"Rogers, I think that's everyone!" Natasha called into her com link. She got a glance as he led a couple people out a different exit.

"_Ok, let's check once more though. We still don't have eyes on all the hostiles" _He replies. Natasha gave a nod to herself before running back towards the center of the park.

"_Guys I got something here" _Tony says over the com.

"_What is it?" _

"_About two dozen creeps in black towards the center of the park" _Tony replies after a few seconds.

"Heading there now" Natasha replies; picking up her running pace.

~0~

**MEANWHILE…**

"Coopter!" Kate yelled; pointing. Pepper smiled; looking at the TV.

"Yes Katie! That's a Helicopter!" Pepper chuckled; seeing the several Helicopters on the TV. Kate gave her a confused look before shaking her head. She pointed out the window.

"Coopter!" She yelled again. Pepper furrowed her eyebrows before looking over at the window; seeing that there was a Helicopter hovering about 50 yards away from the window.

"What…?" Pepper breathed as she stood up and walked slowly to the window. The cockpit windows were darkened so she couldn't see anyone. Seconds later the side panels of the copter came down and Pepper could see missiles lining it. Pepper only had time to run over to Kate as two missiles were fired and shattered the glass; rolling across the floor.

It only took a few seconds before Pepper realized they were gas canisters as the caps blew off and smoke filled the room.

Pepper backed up; coughing as the smoke quickly reached the ceiling and it became hard to see. Kate whimpered before hugging Pepper and burying her face into her shirt.

"Shhh, it's ok Katie" Pepper whispered as she backed up against a wall.

~0~

"Nat, you in position?" Steve spoke into his com before glancing into the clearing at the several dozen men that were setting more bombs and talking amongst themselves; patrolling the area.

"_Yeah Cap'n I'm ready_" Natasha replies.

"_Guys, Jarvis says there's a problem at the tower." _Tony spoke up. Steve brought his hand away and looked up; just barely seeing smoke coming from the Tower. Suddenly there was a loud shot as guns started to open fire.

Steve brought his attention back; seeing several Police Officers had engaged. The masked men suddenly stopped and turned around; looking in the direction of the Tower. They then all dropped their guns and turned back to the officers; putting their hands in the air.

Steve furrowed his eyebrows before seeing something that he did not expect. One by one the figures started to disappear, all going away until there was only one left. They were all holograms. He held his hands in the air a bit higher before Steve could hear him chuckling.

"Take me away officers" He shouted. "My work here is done" He turned slightly; his eyes were on Steve.

Steve glared at him and then furrowed his eyebrows. How did he even know he was there, why not just start shooting.

The man grinned before looking up at the Tower directly. Steve's eyes widened before he spoke into his com.

"It's a distraction! Fall back to the Tower!" He yelled before running for the exit.

~0~

**A COUPLE MINUTES EALIER….**

Pepper began to cough much more when a shadowed figure stepped out. Her eyes widened as she backed up against the wall with Kate still in her arms.

"Who are you and what do you want?" She demanded; holding Kate tighter. The figure was wearing a mask and his face couldn't be seen.

"Is that Kate?" He said in a low but surprisingly happy voice. Pepper tightened her grip even more on Kate; seeing the worried look in the child's eyes.

"Get out." Pepper made clear.

"After I get what belongs to me" He snapped before giving a nod and several people emerged from the smoke and grabbed her. One grabbed Kate from Pepper while two other men grabbed Pepper and pulled her over to the far wall.

"Kate!-" Pepper called as the man disappeared with Kate. Pepper saw the look of fear in her eyes before they disappeared into the smoke. "Where are you taking her?!" Pepper yelled. The lead man turned to her before pulling a gun from his waist.

"She'll be safe for now…" He trails off. "Well, at least until she arrives as the second location" He mutters before raising a gun in her direction. Suddenly there was a bang and a cry. The lead man turned; looking around.

"Chuck" He turned to one of the men to his left. The man Chuck nodded before heading towards the sound. It was dead silent for a few moments and all anyone could hear was breathing.

It only took a few more seconds before there was a growl and a cry before it was cut short when the was a sound of something snapping. Pepper felt a chill go down her spine; it sounded like a bone being crushed.

It grew quiet again before something burst out of the smoke and lunged at the lead man; tackling him to the ground. All Pepper could see was fur before she realized it was a German shepherd.

"Kate" She breathed. The dog snapped and crawled at the man before managing to bit down on the mask. She ripped it off his head before growling and staring him dead in the eye. Pepper didn't recognize him, but something told her that she did.

"It'd been a long time, hasn't it Kate?" The man chuckled softly; breathing a bit heavy. Her lips curled back into a snarl as she was just inches away from his face. "Oh wait, it hasn't has it? I was just here a couple days ago" He grinned. Kate's growl grew in her throat before she went to snap at him and he dodged her; rolling to the side and pulled her down with him into a head lock.

The German shepherd barked and growled before squeezing out of his grip and biting down on his arm; making cry out.

"Kate-!" Pepper yelled as the men started to drag her towards the stairwell. The dog looked up and immediately looked back down at the man that she could end in seconds. He pushed himself up a bit and grinned.

"Go on, finish it" He challenged. "Either way, someone is going to die here…. Me or her" He growls. She felt a growl rise in her throat before she closed her eyes and ran towards the stairwell after Pepper; leaving the man behind.

~0~

"_Stark! You there?" _Steve called into his com link; looking up and seeing Iron Man outside the communal floor. Where Kate and Pepper had been.

"Yeah I'm here, I don't see them Rogers" He replies. Steve swallowed before nodding to himself.

"Nat?"

"Almost back Cap" Natasha responds into her com as she was running down the street towards the tower.

Suddenly the stairwell door opened and Steve turned to see two men walking out with Pepper; a gun pointed at her.

"Pepper!" He called. She looked up as her name was called and struggled against the men.

"Steve- Its Kate!" She yelled. "She's back!" She adds. As Pepper finished the door to the stairwell was pushed slowly and a German shepherd head popped out. Steve felt his heart start to beat a bit faster as the stakes were getting higher and higher. He finally took a deep breath and gave Kate a very small nod. The German shepherd lowered her head in return before crawling out and silently walking up behind the two men holding Pepper.

"Drop the shield and put your hands on your head!" The man yelled. Seconds later Natasha ran into the building and came to a dead stop; seeing the situation. "You too! Drop the guns!" The man yelled; pointing the gun at Pepper. Steve finally exchanged a glance with Natasha before he dropped his shield; letting it hit the ground while Natasha placed her guns down.

Natasha furrowed her eyebrows; seeing that there was a German shepherd behind the two men. She immediately drew her attention back to the men.

"We're leaving right now!" One of the men yells; and if one of you takes one more step we're blowing a whole…" He points the gun up at Pepper's head. "Right through her skull" He makes clear.

Suddenly there was a bark and Kate jumped up; sinking her teeth into the gunmen's hand and dragging it to the ground as the gun when off. Both Steve and Natasha flinched as they saw the scuffle going on. Pepper pulled out of the other man's grip before running over to where they were. Natasha met her there and they walked towards the door.

Kate brought the guy to the floor; shaking her head around and hearing the snap of his wrist in her mouth. Steve quickly picked up his shield and threw it at the second guy; making him fly back into the wall.

She let go of his wrist and seconds later shifted back into her normal 16 yr old self and punched the guy right across the face; knocking him out.

…

I drew my hand back; seeing he was out before I looked over and saw Steve. He quickly took his helmet off and put his shield back down before he walked over to me. I quickly pushed myself up before smiling and running over to him. He met me in a hug and I rapped my arms around him; burying my face into his suit.

"You scared the hell out of me" He mumbles. I bit my lip; not looking up.

"Sorry" I mumble back before finally looking up at him. "You're not grounding me are you?" I ask. He smirks before we started walking for the door.

"No, I'll let this one side" He sighs. "Next time you go anywhere SHIELD related you better tell me" He says; looking down at me before he picked up his helmet and shield; tossing me the helmet to hold. I held it by the chin strap before looking up at him.

"Oh, I like the hair by the way" I state. He looks down at me before rolling his eyes; rapping an arm around me as we walked out. I hugged him before we got out.

I saw Pepper talking to Tony who looked worried and Natasha walked over.

"You ok Kate?" She asked. I nodded before she hugged me. I hugged her back before we pulled out.

"Kate" I looked over; seeing Pepper run over. She pulled me into a hug and I stumbled just barely; hugging her back. "You ok? I thought they'd get away with you back there" She says quietly. I shake my head a little; still hugging her.

"Yeah, I'm fine"

"What happened to that guy back there did you…" She trailed off; pulling out of the hug. I felt myself tense at the mention of him; seeing memories flash through my mind. It got quiet and I felt myself zone out into my thoughts.

"…Kate" I heard Steve speak up. I blinked out and glanced at him. "Who was it that you saw" He asked; the concern was clear in his voice. I took in a breath before letting it out; my eyes trailed over to one of the unconscious bodies.

"Jack"


	57. Chapter 57

Chapter 57

**I am so, so, so, so SORRY! D: I only have two more days of school and I was studying a LOT for my final exams for school and stuff… it sucked XD I really hope that you all like this chapter and review! :) So soon I will be starting the sequel! *squeal* There will be a few more chapters; under 10. But I'm having a slight problem… yep… so I don't know if I should publish the sequel or I should keep it in this story as it continues, which I feel the second one is better. It would be easier for all of you to just keep reading this one (at least that's what I thought) PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THAT! :D**

I was following Steve back up to the communal floor with Natasha behind me. We were on our way to see if Jack was still up there.

We were in the stair well as we finally made it to the floor number and we all stopped.

"You sure you wanna be up here" Steve turned back to me. I don't hesitate to nod. He looks to Natasha who gave a quick nod before he nodded to himself in return and turned; pushing the door open and letting some remains of the smoke come out.

The shattered glass let the sun in and also let the smoke fumes come out. It was a bit dusty from what was left of the smoke.

I ran over to the spot where he was last; seeing it was empty and a small blood trail led away.

Steve and Natasha were looking around the floor as I followed the trail. It finally led to the shattered window and then there was nothing. He somehow got out here.

"He's gone" I growl; crossing my arms.

"Don't worry, now that we know who he is we can be this guy, Kate" Natasha says to me as she walks over.

~0~

I was sitting on the couch of the communal floor. It had been about 6 hours since-... Well... Since I've been back to normal. Apparently I was a toddler? Weird. Natasha explained it all to me and all I could get out of it was that I was an adorable pain in everyone's asses. Oh, and Tony found some window repair company that was working on the building next to us and paid them to do the windows up real quick. They were shiny and new!

"Here" I looked up when I saw Steve holding out a cup of milk that I asked him to get like a minute ago.

"Thanks" I mumble while taking a sip. He sat down on the couch diagonal to me before I set the cup on the table. "Why does my throat hurt" I mumble. He looks up before smirking.

"You have a fever-, or... you did" He says with a slightly concerned look before getting up and walking into the kitchen. I furrow my eyebrows as he walks back over seconds later with a thermometer.

"What's that for?" I ask.

"To check your temperature." He replies before kneeling in front of me. "Open" I furrow my eyebrows again before opening my mouth and he put the thermometer in my mouth.

"What am I 5?" I mumble with the thermometer still in my mouth.

"You were a few hours ago" He says smugly. I hesitate before nodding in reply. Damn, I already forgot.

"So what happened when I was little?" I mumble again.

"Stop talking you're gonna mess up the reading" He says. I make a face before rolling my eyes; the thermometer still in my mouth.

"Well excuse me!" I say playfully in an offended tone. He smirks before there was a beep from the thermometer and I went cross-eyed; looking down at it.

He took it and looked at the numbers before huffing.

"You still have a fever" He mutters. I smirk before looking at the numbers; seeing 103°.

"Aw, what are you gonna do now, get me chicken noodle soup and let me watch TV all day?" I joke.

"You want soup?" He takes his eyes off the thermometer and looks up at me. I furrow my eyebrows before nodding.

"Hell yeah I do what kinda question is that?" I reply in a serious tone. He rolls his eyes before getting up and walking into the kitchen. "Does that mean I can watch TV all day too?"

"No" He doesn't respond as he took a can from the cupboard and put it on the counter. I pout before looking out the window; seeing the lights lighting up the dark sky. It was kinda late- sort of.

I looked over when the elevator door opened and I saw Bruce walk out.

"Hey Kate, can I borrow you for a minute?" He asked. I look over at Steve who gave me a nod.

"Sure" I shrug before getting up and walking over to him.

~0~

Bruce needed to borrow me for some blood tests. He took some when I was what everyone is calling "little Kate" or me, whatever. Apparently I had a really cute reaction, I don't remember to well, and I only have some images and flashbacks from it. Not solid memories.

After the blood tests- which I hated! - I went back up to the Communal floor to get my soup. I walked out of the elevator and saw Dad was-... Did I just call him that in my head?

I suddenly felt a little awkward as I walked over to the counter; seeing-... Steve on the couch.

"Hey Steve, mind if I- Uh,..." I completely lose my train of thought. He looked over; a bit confused.

"You calling me by my name now?" He looked amused. I swallowed; my eyes darted away before I looked back at him.

"Um" I swallow. Why the hell can't I spit the words out? It was just a thought!

"Well you can if you want I didn't mean-" He spoke up quickly and I think he saw me lose my cool.

"No- no! I uh, just forgot." I smile before looking around the counter for my soup.

"It's in the micro wave" He spoke up. I nod before walking over to it and opening the little door; taking the bowl out and putting it on the counter.

"So, dad can we run tomorrow?" I make sure to get it right that time.

"How's the-"

"Healed" I answer with noodles hanging out of my mouth from the soup. He looked over; furrowing his eyebrows.

"It's healed." Was his reply. I nod.

"Something with the machine and me being turned back into a kid, I don't know what it did really, but I figured it was a way of going back in time; before I was shot. But it didn't completely heal because I did eventually change back into my normal self" I explain. He looked confused as hell. I sat down diagonal of him on the couch. "But that's just what I think" I add. "... Or something like that" I mumble. He narrows his eyes a bit and I could see he was trying to figure out if I would lie about this to go running.

"I want Bruce to check it first and then we'll see-"

"Done." He smirks at my reply before I put more soup into my mouth.

~0~

The next morning I was up at 5am and ready to go; anxiously waiting in the lobby. I know that we leave at 5:30 for the usual but I was pumped! I haven't had a run since before I was I the coma... Holy crap that was a long time ago.

I looked outside; it was still dark. Looking around to make sure I couldn't see anyone- more so that no one can see me before I shifted into a German shepherd and waited by the door.

Only a few minutes went by before I heard the ding of the elevator I looked over before running over to the side; shifting back and waiting to see who would come out. It would probably Natasha or Clint leaving for a mission at this hour. My eyebrows shot up when I saw Dad- Steve walk out.

"What the hell?!" I yelled. He jumped; turning to see me. He closed his eyes; a look that I envisioned as "busted". "You were gonna leave without me?!" I gave him a betrayed look.

"Look, Kate I think you should give it a few more days before-"

"What if I say no?" I challenge.

"Then I'll ground you and you'll have to go to bed at 8pm for the next month; get back inside" He sums up; walking for the door before turning to me again. I open my mouth to respond before closing it. Damn, he really took advantage of the time I was a toddler to learn how to get on my case... Darn it.

"Then I can just stay awake" I cross my arms.

"Then you won't leave your room." He says back in a stern voice. I narrow my eyes. We both had a moment of just plain glaring before I backed off a bit.

"Fine" I mutter; looking around before I turned to walk for the elevator when I stopped. I couldn't help but smirk before I quickly shifted back into a German shepherd and ran past him and out the door.

"Kate I swear-!" I heard his voice cut off as he chased me out the door and towards the park.

**I know it was a little short, but I hope you all liked it :) I just wanted to give you guys something that was cute but still funny all around XD Please tell me what I should do about this whole sequel thing! And review if you liked it :D**


	58. Chapter 58

Chapter 58

**Hey everyone! :) Sorry I should have updated sooner but the next chapter WILL be up very soon! It's already written so it's a ready to go! :D Please review if you liked the chapter! **

I ran across the street and jumped over a fallen trash can before running around several trees in the park. I could hear Steve running and yelling for me to stop behind me as I picked up more speed; running across the grass. Several people jumped out of the way as I picked up more speed; getting to the lake. I ran around it and up onto the dock before I realized what I had just done. I turned around and saw Dad-... Steve ran up onto the dock; blocking my escape.

"Kate, we're going back- to the tower" He was breathing a bit heavy. I looked at him before glancing to my right. I let out a growl before barking.

"This is not a negotiation" He said back as if he knew I was trying to get out of the fact that I was in big trouble. I would have smirked if in human form before I turned and jumped into the water; shifting into the first animal that popped into my head.

...

Steve ran to the edge of the dock before looking into the dark water. It only took a good ten seconds before something splashed him right in the face. He heard what sounded like laughing before he opened his eyes to see a dolphin. Steve let out a breath before wiping the water from his face with his hands.

"Kate, I swear if you don't get out of the water right n-" He couldn't even finish his sentence before getting splashed in the face again. The dolphin continued to laugh before he finally gave her a good long glare. The dolphin swam on its side before looking up at him; waving a flipper. He only crossed his arms before letting out another breath.

"We're leaving" He made clear; pointing behind him with his thumb. The dolphin stopped moving for a moment before diving back down into the depths and swam to the other side of the lake; shifting back into her normal human self before she started to run.

...

Oh no, he's really pissed off now. Maybe I could hide away in an alley 'til he cools off or somethi-... Hehe cools off. I need to use that joke sometime on him.

I ran out of the park and across the street before running down the sidewalk. I made it down a different road before I got to an area that was a little less populated and easier to navigate. I was breathing heavy before I looked around in several directions.

"Finally" I breathed before leaning on my knees; leaning over a bit before I stood back up. I pulled my hoody over my head before I started to back up when someone grabbed my wrist. I immediately turned around before seeing Steve attach something to my wrist. I shifted as quickly as possible into a German shepherd before I felt a jolt of electricity. I whined before rubbing my paw over the pavement; trying to get it off. I can't believe he had one of those on him at the time.

I finally shifted back; breathing heavy from being electrocuted by the bracelet thing he put on my wrist. This was the same freaking thing he used when I was looking for my parents. Damn it.

"You are in trouble" He made clear; still breathing a bit heavy. I gave him a frustrated look before I pushed myself up.

"Not my fault you won't let me do shit around here" I state.

"Watch it" He snapped in a warning tone; giving me an angered look before he turned. I stopped myself from taking a step forward when I was about to follow him. I rolled my eyes with a glare after he turned around and I then started to follow him back.

~0~

I followed Steve onto the communal floor and saw Clint playing the Xbox.

"Kate come help I could use a set of skilled hands for this level" He says; not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Ok" I shrug before I started to walk over. I felt someone grab my arm and pull my back over.

"No you're not," Steve made clear before looking over at Clint.

"She's not playing any games for a week" He said in an ordering tone in Clint's direction before he walked over towards the stairs. I followed him with my eyes; glaring.

"Whatever you say Cap'n" Clint watched him leave before replying; then looking at me with an 'oooooohhhhh!' Look like I was in big trouble- which I was. "What'd you do?" He smirked. I rolled my eyes before walking over; sitting on the couch next to him.

"Didn't listen after he told me not to do something, and then I splashed water in his face twice and he had to chase me all over the park and part of the city" I mumble; staring at the floor. He laughed before continuing to play his game.

"Did he cuff you?" He chuckled.

"Excuse me?"

"Use the little thing that doesn't let you shift" He rewords. I nod; looking at my wrist.

"Yep" I mumble. He smirks again before looking back at his game.

"I'm guessing you're grounded then" I laugh.

"Oh yeah, big time" I reply; making him laugh again.

~0~

So I'm pretty much staying in my room most of the time now. It's not like I can go anywhere. It's been 4 days so far. I can't get out the window because I would need to shift in order to not die by falling off the tower. Although I can use the vents sometimes. Tony lets me know when Dad leaves so I can get some time to use the punching bag or have Clint spar with me.

I looked at the ceiling for a few more seconds before looking at the door.

"Jarvis" I spoke up.

"Yes Miss. Sanders?" Jarvis' voice came over the speaker.

"Is Captain Rogers in the tower?" I ask in an oddly professional tone to set the mood.

"He is in the Tower-"

"Kate?" I heard someone call my name and knock on the door. Speaking of...

I groan before yelling.

"What?" I groan at the ceiling. There was some hesitation.

"Can you open the door?" He asked. I tried to hold back a smirk at the way he asked before I slowly got off the bed and walked to the door. I opened it and didn't look up at Steve who was in that God damn stealth suit again.

"That wasn't so hard was it?" He said smugly and cracked a small smile but stayed serious. "Natasha and I have a mission, we'll be back by Tuesday night" He says. It was Wednesday when he grounded me and today is Monday. I try to hide my smile.

"So does that mean I-?"

"No, it means you can find a way to entertain yourself that doesn't involve electronics and shifting" He cuts me off. I frown before gripping the door; about ready to slam it in his face.

"Alright..." I say; waiting for him to walk away. My eyes dart to the left before I very briefly look back at him and then back at the floors "Bye" I say in a short tone. He swallows; not moving out of the way of the door.

"Can I have a hug or are you still pissed off at me" He says. I could tell by his expression that he didn't want to leave without setting things somewhat right so we weren't all mad at each other. I look at the ground before walking out from behind the door to hug him. He hugged me tightly and then finally pulled out like ten seconds later. I didn't look up at him the whole time before he lifted my chin a bit so I was looking at him.

"Hey," He smirked. "How mad are you at me right now?" He asked. I blinked.

"An 8" I mumble. I could see hurt cross his face before he hid it and I didn't bother feeling bad... Damn it, what is wrong with me. I need to cut this out, it was my fault... Now all I need to do is convert that thought into words; an apology.

"Alright" He said; nodding to himself slightly. I clenched my jaw before looking down the hall.

"I'll see you when I get back I guess" He said before giving me one more look; walking down the hall. He was upset now. Damn I feel bad now. It looks like I hurt him with how I acted... that's a first.

I put a hand through my hair before slamming the door in frustration. I can't seem to make any of this right.

I fell face first on my bed and groaned into my pillow. Then a thought popped into my head. I sat up and blew the hair from my face before quickly running for the vent. A little flying might do me good- well, not flying with wings of course.

**Don't worry it'll get better and more happy! Don't hate me! XD Pretty Please review if you liked it :) **


	59. Chapter 59

Chapter 59

**Hey everyone! So sorry, I'm trying to get these up sooner. My summer is actually turning out to be pretty busy! XD So I know I said the next chapter will be happy… I may have lied a little – but don't worry it **_**will **_**get happy again don't you worry but someone will find out about something! **

I popped out the vent and looked around the lab/Tony's tinkering shop before I crawled out and ran over to the far all; putting my hand on the scanner before the wall opened up and a smaller wall was pushed out with my suit on if. It was still shiny and the blue black and grey color didn't have a single scratch on it.

I grinned to myself before unlocking the controls; getting ready to go.

…

"Miss Sanders, the power is dropping below 5%-"

"Almost there Jarvis" I cut him off. We had been out not that long but I forgot to make sure the power was charged from the last time I used it... Apparently not.

I flew faster and finally made it to the next building; flying closer and closer before I put my hands and feet out in front of me and came to a dead stop before skyrocketing upwards. I turned around and started to fly back towards the tower when I felt myself slowing down I looked at my hand out of the corner of my eye and saw the thrusters flickering; trying to push me a just a little farther.

"Any back up power J?" I asked slowly.

"We're on backup power" He replied.

"Crap" I mutter before I realized we were about to crash into the window. "Oh sh-"

I crashed through the window of the communal floor and rolled across the floor; hitting the wall on the other side of the room with the back. I had a glance and noticed that Sam, Tony, Clint, and Pepper were in the room. When did Sam get here?!

I grunted in pain as I slowly pushed myself up a bit; on my hands and knees.

"You ok kid?" Tony called over. I waved a hand in his direction that I was fine before I pushed myself up a bit more.

"Miss Sanders, I think it would be wise to hide your suit-" Jarvis spoke up quickly.

"Why" I gritted my teeth as I shook my head; regaining myself. Then I heard someone walking out of the elevator and I froze. I slowly looked up; the helmet- mask, whatever came up and I saw Steve. He didn't leave for the mission yet, oh my god I'm dead. My eyes darted to the right and I saw he left the mission file which was on the counter. Damn it, that's what he forgot and had to come back for.

"What... Is that." He asked in a low tone which sent a slight chill down my spine. He crossed his arms over his chest; looking in Tony's direction. "Stark, where did she get that?" He asked. His tone was still low which made me suddenly feel scared for Tony. Tony put his hands up.

"Hey, Cap now don't freak out over thi-"

"Did you give that to her?!" His voice rose.

"Maybe I did but look at the bright side-"

"The bright side?! She could have been killed by that thing!" He shouted.

I got to my feet and the suit opened and I stepped out; roll my shoulders that were sore. The suit closed up; standing straight as if I was still in it. I bit my lip; watching them argue some more, as I scratched the back of my neck. This is a bit awkward... And also my fault.

"Hold on- I thought everyone adopted the kid Rogers- we all take care of her-"

"You really wanna go there right now?" Ste- Dad... demanded in a low tone. Oh god I don't think this could honestly get any worse- hold it, it definitely can.

I had my mouth open; like I was about to speak when I glanced at Sam with a shocked look. She looked surprised and a bit startled and Clint was a bit confused and conceded and looked like he wanted to speak up.

"Let's get something straight Stark, she's 16. Alright? That suit is dangerous, and if she were to-"

"Ok, let me just stop you there, my suits aren't 'dangerous'-" Steve threw a hand in the air with a sarcastic smirk like he remembered or understood.

"Oh- of course, I forgot... It's not like that suit that exploded last week will make a difference!" He raised his voice.

"You really think I wouldn't test that suit she has to make sure it was safe?!" Tony asked. "I may be a pain in the ass Rogers but it's not like I'm going too purposely but the kid in harm's way-" Tony replied. I can't believe he admitted to that.

"How long has she had this" Dad... Steve -I can't make up my mind right now- asked in a dangerously low tone. Tony didn't back down at all; only kept his gaze.

"First time she was in the suit was when you and Natasha were in Canada-" he started in a quieter tone.

"That was almost a year ago!" Steve uncrossed his arms; his voice getting louder again.

They kept on throwing replies back and forth. Pepper quietly sipped her coffee; I think she knew he would react like this. Clint walked over; he was smirking as he guided Sam and I toward the elevator.

"Let's give them time to figure this out." Clint says as we walked toward the elevator.

Sam turned to me really quick.

"I'm gonna just go home; we'll can hang out later" She said before flinching as one of them yelled in the background. I gave her a nod and a smile. "Good luck bestie" She smirked before punching my shoulder playfully; then quickly walking to the stairs.

Clint and I got into the elevator and it was silent for a few seconds.

"Don't worry, he's just being a bit protective right now" Clint looked over at me. I kept staring at the floor.

"Yeah" I mumble. "And he'll add on another several months to my grounding." I mutter.

"Hey, he's just in a mood right now. I'll talk to him if you want" He offered. I gave a small smile before walking out of the elevator.

"Thanks" I say quietly before walking towards my room.

~0~

After an hour of sitting in my room staring at the wall I walked down the hall towards the elevator. I kept going when I saw something out of the corner of my eye; seeing Da- Steve's door was open a crack. I glanced down the hall and then back at his door. I finally turned and I lifted my hand to knock before I dropped my hand and took in a breath before pushing it open; seeing him quickly walking around; putting stuff in his duffle bag.

"Dad" I spoke up quietly; getting his attention. He looked up as he was pulling a shirt from the drawl.

"Kate... what is it?" He asked; drawing his attention back to what he was doing. I swallowed; crossing my arms.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the suit" I say; my voice barely above a whisper.

He slows down as he was putting something into the bag; I saw him glance at me just barely.

"It's ok, I know you didn't mean to" he says quietly. I look at the floor. I could tell by his voice that he was still disappointed with me.

"You still goin on the mission?" I ask. He was still putting things in the bag; not looking up.

"Fury needs me for a different emergency mission. I'll be back in a few days." He says. I swallow.

"What's it about?" I ask. He zips up his bag before walking toward me and the door.

"Nothing important" He walks over and kisses the top of my head before walking out the door.

I clench jaw; my arms still crossed. He doesn't trust me. I can feel it; he's still pissed at me but doesn't want to show it.

I slowly turn before walking out toward the elevator.

~0~

I walked out and saw Clint hand Steve a file before he clipped his helmet on. He was looking down at the file as he walked toward the elevator where I was. I swallow; putting my hands in my pockets.

He closed the file before looking up. He gave me a brief smile before pulling me into a hug.

"When you coming back?" I ask.

"Hopefully I'll be back by Sunday" he replies; still hugging me before pulling out. I look down to my right; picking up his shield and handing it to him.

"Thank you," he says before pulling my head in slightly so he could kiss the top of my head. He then put his shield on his back before walking into the elevator. I watched the door close and it was quiet for a few seconds.

"It's official. He hates me" I announce; walking over to the couch.

"He doesn't hate you Kate, he's probably just pissed that Tony didn't tell him about the suit and with your previous grounding adding into the mix" Clint says from the counter; sounding more understanding then amused.

I sit down on the couch; propping my chin on my hand; staring at the coffee table.

"Did you talk to him?" I asked.

"Yeah, he snapped at me" He smirked. I don't bother smiling; staring at the ground.

"He never does that" I whisper to myself. He always told me what his missions were; if I asked. Even if they were quick and easy ones. No matter how hard or easy he always told me so I wouldn't worry or anything.

Ok, it's really upsetting and annoying when he's mad at me... But this is different. He's not telling me anything, just keeping it to himself.

"What's the mission about?" I asked; looking over a Clint. He looked up from his SHIELD laptop.

"I don't know too much, it was some mission in upstate New York, I didn't look into the details" he says; looking back down at his laptop.

I nod; looking at the floor. Suddenly there was a buzz and I looked over as Clint picked up his phone.

"Hello?... Ok, where?... Yes, sir I'll get right on it" he hung up and walked away from his laptop.

"Where you goin?" I ask.

"Mission" he shrugs; walking for the elevator. I huff; feeling jealous.

I still can't go on missions as you all know; S- Dad is making sure of that. I thought he was strict before I got shot... But he seriously took it to the next level.

I huff; looking down at my hands in my lap before hearing the door close. I look up and make sure he was gone before quickly get up from the couch and walk over to where his laptop was. I found the file for recent mission and found the one in upstate New York. Finding the exact location; I exited out of the search before walking toward the door; grabbing my coat. I was about to leave when I stopped; looking down at my wrist and seeing the bracelet thing that I was still wearing. I quickly ran towards the stairs before I started climbing them.

A couple minutes later I finally got to the lab and I ran over to Tony's counter. I picked up the little metal box that Tony usually put in the arm of his suits. Ok so remember when D... Well, Dad and Natasha were in Canada and when Tony asked me to hold the arm of his suit and that red beam almost destroyed the lab?... That's what I'm holding.

I held it in my hand and aimed it at the edge of the bracelet before pushing the button. It went right through the metal and snapped it. I dropped the device before ripping the metal bracelet from my wrist; throwing it on the counter. I then ran for the door.

~0~

I shifted out of bird form as I landed on the ground in a roll. I pushed myself to my feet; looking around. It. Was. Freezing!

I rapped my arms around myself as if I was hugging myself.

In front of me was an older looking building; it was mostly brick but it was faded away so it looked like a grey.

I took a deep breath before picking up a jog; heading for the door.

Once I got there I hesitated before walking in. It was dim and the only light came from outside. It was about 4pm right now so it was somewhat lighter.

There was a staircase in front of me to my right slightly and a hall to the left of that. There were open rooms on either side of me as well. I quietly walked to the room to my left; putting my back to the wall when there was a sudden crash. I flinch; hearing a yell before there was a bang of metal and a body fell down the stairs. It grew quiet again seconds later and I looked out a bit; leaning a bit too far as the wood creaked.

I curse under my breath before quickly getting against the wall.

There was some hesitation before I heard the thud of boots on the stairs. I bit my lip; keeping myself flat against the wall.

I could hear someone breathing heavy and then the walking stopped; and all I could here was breathing.

I furrowed my eyebrows; recognizing the sound slightly. I pushed off and peaked around the corner when someone stepped out from the other side of the wall and slammed me against the wall.

"Dad! It's me-!" I blurt out quickly. He had his shield up like he was about to hit me.

"Kate?!" He quickly dropped my shoulder and backed up; letting me slump back down on the floor. I held my shoulder; saying several choice words under my breath. "What are you doing here?" He whispered; sounding shocked. I hold up a finger as I lean back against the wall.

"Give me a second, I can't breathe yet" I clench my jaw as I leaned my head back for a moment.

"A-Are you ok?" He seemed a bit worried now. I nodded after a couple seconds; swallowing a breath before standing up straight again. "Kate, what are you doing here" He asks again; this time a bit calmer.

I swallow and hesitate before speaking up.

"Please tell me you don't hate me for the-"

"Hate you?" He asked in astonishment. My mouth was still open like I was about to speak. "Why-" he hesitated; looking a bit confused." ...Why would I hate you?" He asked; looking slightly amused but confused. I blink a few times when there were sounds of footsteps on the stairs.

He glanced to his right before he quickly turned and threw his shield at the guy; making him cry in pain before falling down the stairs.

He caught the shield before looking back at me. I was still staring at the bodies behind him before I blinked several times; shaking my head before looking back up at him.

"I Uh-..." I swallow; seeing him raise an eyebrow. "Ab-bout the suit, I didn't tell you-"

"Kate I'm not mad about that" he says with a smile. "Now what I am is pissed off at Tony for not telling me about it, but I'm not mad at you" he says. I nod after a few seconds.

"You're not mad at me... not at all?" I ask. He hesitates and narrows his eyes at first. I bit my lip; trying to hide a smile.

"Ok maybe a little-" he smirks before pulling me into a hug. I smile before he pulled out. "Now how did you even get here?" He asked; raising an eyebrow. I bit my lip; looking at the ground.

"I might have borrowed Clint's laptop...?" I smile. I smirk.

"And by borrow do you mean without permission?" He asked slowly.

"Yep" I smile bigger. He smirks before looking around.

"I have to finish this mission, what's your plan?" He asked. I shrug.

"I don't know, I didn't think I would find you this quickly" I reply.

"No one else knows you're here do they?" He asked; I could tell he knew the answer by the tone of his voice but I responded anyway. I shake my head.

"No, but no one was really home besides Tony and Bruce; I think they were in the lab when I left." I tell him. He nods after a few seconds before sighing.

"What am I gonna do with you" he says more to himself before looking around the corner.

I smirk; putting my hands in my pockets.

"What's the mission exactly?" I ask. "I didn't read much of it, just where it was" I reply. He nods; looking back over to me.

"Just tracking someone down" he says. "If you wait in the trees outside they shouldn't see y-"

"Aw hell no, I'm not staying out there when the action- and my dad- are in here" I make clear. He raises an eyebrow.

"Ok, then what do you want to do?" He asked; looking around the corner briefly before looking back at me.

"I wanna help" I stand up straighter. He chuckles.

"Not gonna happen" he says; shaking his head. I huff.

"Why not?" I ask; crossing my arms.

"I don't feel comfortable with you doing these missions-"

"Oh don't worry dad, you've made that very clear"" I smirk.

"Good" he replies in a serious tone. I lean back against the wall. He adjusts his grip on his shield before looking around; then back at me. "Just... Do me a favor and please wait outside" Now I could see worry in his eyes; it's making me feel bad damn it. I hesitate before biting my lip and nodding. He pulled me into another hug and I wrapped my arms around him.

"Love you" I mumble into his suit as I was hugging him. He pulled out of the hug and quickly kissed the top of my head.

"Love you too honey... Now go outside" He orders. I roll my eyes and nod before he disappears down the hall. I quickly walked out the door towards the trees.

**Was it ok? :| Sorry if that wasn't the best chapter, just thought Steve should finally know about that suit Kate had been hiding, and I think the next chapter might go **_**back **_**downhill just a bit but will go immediately right back up again and I think you will like the ending of the next chapter! :) I appreciate the reviews! :) **


	60. Chapter 60

Chapter 60

**Wow, chapter 60… cool! :D Never thought that this story would be good enough to take it to this many chapters XD Anyway, enjoy!**

I was sitting in a tree a few feet off the ground. This was getting really, really, REALLY boring. It's been about an hour and I still haven't seen him come out. This building wasn't too big, the size of a small warehouse in comparison.

I hope nothing happened. I can't help but think about that. But I think he said it wasn't a big deal of a mission, so he should be fine.

I let my back far against the trunk of the tree as one of my legs was propped up on the branch I was sitting on; the other swaying back and forth beneath me.

Suddenly there was a loud boom as an explosion emerged from the roof. I jerked my head around as the cloud climbed into the sky and the ground shook.

My eyes widened as the smoke, fire, and ash leaped high into the sky.

"That's my cue" I mutter; jumping off the branch and landing in the form of a German shepherd as I ran toward the building.

As soon as I got inside the smoke became overwhelming. It was so thick I could barely see. I had to squint as I made my way down the hall that Steve had originally gone down. It got hotter as the flames were growing around me. The smoke was filling my lungs before I came to a wall of rubble.

I whined before barking several times; hearing nothing but the sound of falling rubble and the creaking as if it was all about to give-way.

I flinched before looking up; seeing a piece of the ceiling falling. I ran to the side as it hit the ground with a loud bang.

I sniffed; trying to get a scent on him but the smoke was throwing me off. I shook my head around before I ran down another hall; seeing a small opening under the rubble that I could sneak under. I got low to the ground; whining as the flames above me singed my fur. The small gap was just small enough for me to squish through. I inched through; getting to the other side about a minute later. I stood back up on all fours; looking around when I saw someone over toward the fall wall under a piece of rubble.

Oh my god, it's Steve.

I quickly barked before running over; seeing he was out-cold. I felt a whine escape my mouth before I nudged his arm repeatedly; waiting for a response but he was like- really out.

I then noticed the thick trail of blood tricking down the side of his head. Something hit him; probably some of the rubble.

Damn it, c'mon dad we gotta get out of here.

I nudged his hand that was propped over the rubble slightly; still nothing.

I could shift back but I wouldn't be able to breathe the air in human form; and I was the one that new the way out...

I had two options here. One; stay here and wake him up and we could find a way out; but we might not get out before the ceiling collapses; or two; get myself out now and get SHIELD in to help me... To hell with the second option, I'm staying.

I licked his hand a couple times before whining; looking back up at him; he still wasn't moving. I walked over to his right side and tried to use my body to push the beam off him but it didn't move.

I barked several times at him; trying to see if the sound might get to him but still nothing.

There's no way I can shift back now, I could be knocked out by the lack of oxygen in minutes, and I don't think Steve's doing too well either.

I whined again before nipping his arm; seeing if the small but sharp pain would do. Still nothing.

Damn you dad! Come on!

I bit down on his suit on his arm and tried to move him but the beam was too heavy for me to move him out from under it.

I nudged his arm several times again before nudging the side of his face; trying to get him up but nothing was helping.

I looked around; seeing the flames advancing and the smoke was filling the room.

I quickly turned back to him with a whine and nudged his arm again before barking.

~0~

Steve felt something nudging him as he opened his eyes slightly. He blinked a few times before his vision was clear; seeing a German shepherd. The dog whined before pushing its muzzle into his shoulder again.

"Kate?" He asked; his voice a bit scratchy. The dog looked up before barking a reply.

He hesitated before pushing himself up so he was sitting up a bit; seeing a wooden beam had fallen on him.

The fire and smoke was all around them and very thick.

He shook his head; regaining himself before pushing the beam off slowly. It creaked and finally tumbled off; he let out a breath of relief before looking at Kate who was standing and looking around; sniffing the air.

He pushed himself to his feet; looking around and seeing that the room was closed off.

"Kate you should of stayed ou-outside-" Steve coughed. The German shepherd only looking up at him; panting before looking over to the other side of the room.

Steve was looking to the other. The dog let out a growl like moan before walking up to him and pushing her head into his hand; getting his attention.

She barked before walking toward the other side of the room; waiting for him to come.

He didn't hesitate before following her. After painstakingly crawling out they were able to stand again.

Kate lifted her nose; sniffling the air again before she turned toward the hall. They broke into a faster walk as they made it out of the way of the rubble; seeing the door ahead.

They both exchanged a glance before a creak was heard from above. They both looked up; exchanged another glance before breaking into a run.

Steve looked up as another wooden beam gave way and slowly started to fall over the door; the ran out right before the entire ceiling collapsed on the front of the building; rolling across the ground.

~0~

I felt my form shift back and I started coughing.

"To hell- *cough* with sta- *cough* -ying outside" I breathe.

"You're grounded" He mumbles. I turn over to him.

"What?" I blurt out. "A-Again?! Ju- I just- I literally just saved your life!" I blurt out whatever words that came to mind in astonishment.

"Yeah, and you disobeyed and order" he says; struggling to sit up.

"Love you daddy" I smile; giving him a cute smile. He looked over at me with a roll of his eyes and gave me a 'really?' look.

"I'm not changing my mind" he says. "You do realize you could have gotten seriously hurt pulling that stunt." He says; pushing himself to his feet.

"And don't you realize that, that little stunt saved your life" I say back; raising an eyebrow; still sitting on the ground before I got to my feet. He shakes his head before looking down at me.

"Thank you" he says with a small smile. I smile and nod. He smirks before pulling me into a hug. Suddenly there was a sound of an engine in the distance; we looked up and saw a quinjet coming down. It landed and about 50 yards away and several Agents including Coulson and Clint got off.

"Man, is Kate saving your ass again, Rogers?" Clint stiffed a laugh as he walked up to us. Both of us were almost black with ash and Steve had the long gash down the side of his head; turning most of the ash to a dark bloody mess.

"Funny Barton" He says; crossing his arms.

"He's got a point dad" I say with a smirk. He rolls his eyes before he began talking to Clint.

I sniffled in a breath before rubbing the back of my hand across my forehead; smearing the ash around.

Suddenly I realized something. I looked up and quickly turned; shifting back into German shepherd form and running toward the building.

~0~

Coulson was getting the details on what happened on the mission. Steve explained that the guy he was after was indeed dead. The plan was to bring him in but the bomb that went off got in the way.

"He got crushed by a wooden beam in the building. I made sure... Then I got knocked out." Steve says; putting a hand through his hair that was thick with ash and a bit of blood.

"Hey uh, Cap? Hate to break up the debrief but... I think your daughter is leaving" Clint says as he walked up; pointing behind them. Steve furrowed his eyebrows before turning and seeing a German shepherd disappear into building.

"Kate!-" He left Coulson standing there and Clint ran over to the building with Steve.

~0~

I managed to crawl under the rubble and back into the building. It was dark and hard to see but I was managing, kinda. Most of the ceiling was actually still intact, so were the walls.

I sniffed the air; picking up our scent trail from earlier before I started trotting down the hall covered in rubble.

It was just as bad as before; the flames were still going high but the smoke was replaced by a thick layer of dust and dandruff in the air.

I shook my head around as I kept moving. I finally made it back to the room that I found him in and I started looking around.

Come on, it's got to be here somewhere.

I was climbing over some rubble when suddenly my paw slipped; I whined as I rolled down the other side and hit the ground with a sickening thud.

I let out a growl like moan as I shook my head around; getting to my feet. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and I turned; seeing what I was looking for. I bark before trotting over; seeing Steve's shield sticking out from under some rubble.

I got over to it and bit down on the rim; backing up as I dragged it out from under the rubble.

~0~

"Kate!" Steve yelled into the building. They couldn't get in past the door; the rubble was too dense and no one there could fit through it.

Clint walked to the right slightly; looking into one of the windows that was blocked by more rubble. He narrowed his eyes a bit more before walking back over to Coulson and a few other agents to help clear everything out to make a path into the building.

Suddenly a German shepherd poked its head around the corner.

Steve happened to glance in that direction and looked behind him before walking over.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He seethed as he got over. The dog's ears went back before she whined; looking at the ground.

"Are you seriously out to get yourself killed!?" He didn't yell but he wasn't being quiet either. Kate looked at the ground and her ears drooped. She let out another whine before disappeared behind the building. "What could have been so important this time that you had to-" He started to rant and then stopped himself when he saw Kate peak her head around the corner again; she had his shield grasped in her mouth. The dog whined; glancing away before looking back up at him; her ears still dropped.

Steve finally let out a breath; obviously feeling a bit bad for yelling now. She dropped the shield; letting it fall into the ash covered grass before running over to where Clint was.

"Kate-" Steve started; his voice quieter now; wanting to apologize, but she kept running.

~0~

Man I can't seem to make this guy happy. I ran up to Clint; not able to hold back the whine that escaped my mouth.

He turned before giving me a slightly confused look; kneeling down.

"There you ar- What's wrong Kate?" He chuckled; kneeling down as I ran up to him; standing behind him to hide myself. He wiped some of the dandruff off my head and back with is hand.

I saw Clint glance up as Steve was putting the shield- that I busted butt to find- on his back.

"What'd you say to her?" Clint asked; putting blame on Steve.

"Kate, I'm sorry" He ignored Clint's question. I felt my ears go back and a growl escaped my mouth before I stalked off toward where Coulson was.

...

"What'd she do?" Clint asked; a bit more serious this time. Steve looked over at him before sighing.

"I just don't want her getting hurt" he replies a bit quieter, like there wasn't anything wrong with it; which to be technical there wasn't.

"Well that is pretty obvious Cap'n" Clint chuckled. "But I think you're being a bit too protective, you need to let her back in the field. I just checked with Coulson and he said she was cleared quite a while ago" Clint says. Steve nods after a few seconds. "You knew?" Clint asked. Steve nodded again.

"Yeah, I know she's been ready for a while, Coulson told me..." Clint smirked.

"But you're not" He replies. Steve shakes his head; crossing his arms. "We're all worried for her Steve, but you of all people should know she can handle herself" Clint says. Steve looks over at Kate; who had shifted back to her normal human form, she was talking to Coulson.

~0~

"So Fury cleared it?" I couldn't close my mouth. Coulson nodded.

"Yeah, he said you can leave now if you want." I glance back at Steve who was about 40 feet away talking to Clint before looking back at Coulson; getting serious.

"Where am I going" I ask. No way am I asking him about this now.

"It's in Texas" Coulson says. An agent walked by; handing him a tablet. Coulson held it up and showed it to me; location and everything. "We need to take this guy in, think you can handle it?" I read over the reasons before giving a nod.

"Definitely" I reply. I'm so going on this mission.

"Kate-" I feel myself tense before I turned; seeing Steve standing a couple feet away.

"I'm going on this mission and you're not stopping me." I snap. He took a deep breath.

"Ok"

"See?!" I turned to Coulson who had raised an eyebrow in surprise. "He's always like thiiiiii-" I trail off; turning back to him. "...what?" I ask. He blinked a few times; glancing at Clint who had walked past us and grinned at me; giving me a nod and two thumbs up.

"I said ok... you can go" he says; looking at the ground. I blink several times before glancing at Clint.

"This is a big freaking joke isn't it-" I growl. He shakes his head and I stop.

"Look, I know I've been really hard on you the last few days-"

"That's an understatement" I mumble. I could immediately tell he was a bit annoyed by that comment.

"And I think it's time you had more say in what you do as a SHIELD agent" he says; getting serious again.

I bit my lip; not able to hold back my smile as I walked over and hugged him.

"Thank you" I mumble. I feel him nod and he kissed the top of my head before pulling out of the hug.

"You are careful" he says; I could see a hint of sternness in his voice. I nod and smile before following Coulson onto the second quinjet that had just landed.

...

"I have a bad feeling" Steve says; crossing his arms. Clint only smirked; shouldering him in a playful manner.

"She'll be fine" Clint says before walking towards the first quinjet. "And I would cancel and forget about that grounding, she's a teenager again Cap, not 5." Clint yelled back with a smirk. Steve let out a huff and rolled his eyes; looking over at Kate as she sat down in the second quinjet; the ramp came up and closed. He took a deep breath before following Clint.

**You will get to see Kate's first mission! Don't worry! And the sequel will be starting soon enough! :D**


	61. Chapter 61

Chapter 61

**Hey everyone! :D I'm in a very good mood right now and I have some AWESOME news! :D :D One more chapter before the sequel! Ok so just to clear all this up: The sequel will start on chapter 63! Ok everyone?**

**CHAPTER 63 IS WHEN THE SEQUEL WILL START! :D**

**Sorry, really excited for that. Ok, so I hope you enjoy this chapter and there is a big announcement at the end so **_**please read the bolded at the end! **_**:D**

The quinjet ramp closed behind me and took off into the air. I was left standing in front of an office building that was abandoned. I had changed into my suit on the carrier and gathered a gun and other supplies- oh and I made sure I had a com link in my ear.

"We think Mr. Holland is on the 5th floor of the building, don't kill him, we need him alive" Director Fury's voice said over the com.

"Yes sir" I replied before walking towards the building. I got to the front doors when I stopped; looking at the ground. I was barely able to see the laser detecting system blocking the doors. I huffed before putting a finger to the com link. "Sir they have laser systems around the entrances." I say.

"Those shouldn't be there" Fury mumbled to himself. I furrowed my eyebrows. So this mission is turning out to be harder than we thought. Yes. Perfect!

"You'll have to get around the system somehow. Check the perimeter and look for holes"

"Copy that" I reply before I started walking around the building. The grass was up to my waist and the gnats were definitely biting. I swatted at them before I walked around to the other side of the building; seeing a door blocked by vines and leaves.

I smirked before walking up and using my pocket knife to cut through it. Once the doorway was somewhat cleared I managed to push it open about 2 feet; letting myself slip inside.

It was dark and damp, the place definitely smelled old so maybe they don't use the first floor of the building. I walked a bit slower and pulled the gun from my thigh; holding it with both hands as I made my way closer to the double doors about 20 feet ahead.

Suddenly there was the sound of voices and the door was pushed open. I quickly ran to my right and hid behind some stacked crates when I heard the footsteps getting closer.

"Did Peter say when the shipment would get here?" I heard a voice.

"Not exactly, he only said sometime this week. I'm guessing it'll be soon; probably today" There was a darker and lower voice also. Ok, at least two targets. I peeked out and saw them. One was holding a handgun and the other wasn't holding any kind of weapon. I was about to use my gun when I hesitated.

I had never killed anyone before; well- besides Allen. But that was different, I couldn't control myself very well at that point in time and he deserved it. I honestly don't believe anyone deserves to die-... But this guy did, I think most people agree with me k that.

I finally put my pistol away and shifted into a black leopard before I stalked off around the crates. I came up behind them and I acted.

I roared and tackled the man with the gun to the ground and I bit down on his wrist containing the weapon; shaking it wildly. He cried out before I hit him across the face with my paw and I then turned to the other man and jumped at him; ramming him into the wall and efficiently knocked him out.

I stood there for a few moments before shifting back into my normal self. Ok, they're just knocked out... Not dead. I quickly took their means communications; their phones, com links, etc. before I stood up and nodded to myself.

With that I walked to the double doors and pushed them open; continuing towards the stairs.

~0~

I made my way up the stairs and took the gun off my thigh; hearing voices.

"Peter, Dan needs to when the shipment will arrive" I heard a voice. I looked through a crack in the wall and saw three men inside.

"Tell him it'll be here today" That was Peter; the guy I needed to take in.

Ok, gotta figure out what to do and how to take this guy in. Should I just barge in or wait to people start to leave the room one by one until Peter is alone? I don't know, think, think, think!

"Agent, what's the holdup" Fury, ugh.

"Target acquired sir, how do you want me to proceed?" I ask. There was some hesitation before someone else came on the line.

"Kate, try waiting them out. It might be the easiest way" Dad?! What the hell?!

"Dad? Where are you?" I asked.

"Rogers, what are you doing?" Fury asked.

"Giving my daughter an order" He replied flatly. Oh great, this won't end well.

"Sanders take the ventilation system, lockdown all exits and then wait and see his next move-"

"Hold on, why are you having her do this the hard way?" Steve asked.

"Because she needs to learn how to do these missions properly and how to take care of them the hard way if necessary."

"Then why not do it when the mission requires it and not give her a heavy weight of work on her first mission" Dad said back.

I raised an eyebrow as they started bickering over the com link... and here I was sitting behind enemy lines.

I mouth a Wow to myself before looking around awkwardly. This is interesting.

"Captain Rogers this is not a hard mission, she needs to-"

"Then why don't you stop giving her the hardest orders in the book and let her compete the mission on her o-"

"Don't you have anything better to do Rogers?!"

"As a matter a fact I don't at the moment!"

I put my hand to my face in a face palm before sighing.

~0~

_45 minutes later... _

"Just because a mission is difficult it does not mean you have to take the hardest course of action to get the job done!"

"Well the same applies for a simple mission that only has one target!"

Oh my god. I'm going to throw myself out the window of the building.

I've been sitting on the floor in the stairwell of this building for so long now...

"Kate, how many people are in the room now?" St- Dad asked. I was almost falling asleep and my head shot up.

"Wha!?" I yell and then put a hand over my mouth to stop myself. I got up and looked into the room; seeing Mr. Holland was sitting at a laptop at a desk in this office room.

"One; the target."

"Alright fine, Agent Sanders please detain him and we'll call in reinforcements" Fury sighed.

"Yes sir" I reply before turning off my com link. Oh my god what was that. They literally just argued over that for close an hour. _An hour._

I took a deep breath before kicking the door down; my gun up. The man turned; looking shocked before I held my gun to him.

"Hands where I can see them" I made clear. He put them up and I realized this was some weird nerdy guy.

After handcuffing him I looked at the computer.

"What is the shipment" I asked. He swallowed and I pressed my gun into his ribs.

"I-it's weapons" He blurted out. Typical. I roll my eyes before putting a finger to my com link.

"Sir, target is detained" I say.

"Good, sending in the extraction team" I nod to myself before leading the man to the door.

After getting out of the building we walked out and into the field in front of us. The quinjet landed and the ramp came down; several agents ran over and took Holland from me.

After following everyone into the jet I looked back at the building and sighed. Wow. First mission was a pretty good success!

~0~

_An hour later... _

I looked up as the quinjet took off and I was left standing in front of the SHIELD station.

I was so tired. I could barely keep my eyes open.

"Agent Rogers?" I heard someone behind me. I furrow my eyebrows. Wait- is dad- Uh, Steve here? I turned around and my eyes came to a person walking towards me.

"Agent Rogers?" The woman repeated. I swallowed and glanced around.

"Uh, I-I don't think Captain Rogers is here-"

"No no, your Agent Katelyn Rogers correct? Captain Rogers' daughter?" The women asked. I looked around quickly in confusion.

"Uh," I swallow and look around. "Yeah" I say slowly. Oh my god what did I just say. Well part of that is true I guess; not the last name though.

"If you'll come with me we'd like to debrief you" She said with a smile. I gave a nod after a few seconds of hesitation before following her.

We walked into the base and down several hallways before we slowed down near a door.

"Agent Coulson will be going through your debrief" She started. I was staring down the hall at a few agents fooling around with something when someone had walked up; Agent Coulson. "Agent Rogers?" I shook my head slightly before looking to the agent to my right.

"Coulson" I smiled as he walked up. He gave me a smile and a nod before the Agent to my right handed me a file and gave me a nod.

I took the file before she walked down the hall and I was left standing with Coulson in the hall. He raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Agent Rogers?" Was all he said. I swallow before rolling my eyes.

"She was just confused" I mutter with a smirk. We walked into the room and the closed the door behind us.

"So you thinking about changing the last name? Or are you keeping Sanders" He asked. I sat down and shrugged.

"I don't know, I've thought about it but it's up to my Da-... I uh, Steve, if he's fine with it." I quickly scratch the back of my head before looking down at the file and looking for something to read.

"You don't have to do that in front of me Kate; I think it's safe to say that you're his daughter." He gave me a reassuring smile and sat down. I gave him a smile before I looked back down at the file.

"Lots changed" I mumble quietly. He chuckles and I see him smirk out of the corner of my eye before he sat down across from me.

"I still remember the day we found you" He chuckled. "Rogers was so adamant on making sure you were ready to be sent out on your own to a foster home- although I know he wasn't so happy about the whole Foster home part of the process" He said and we both laughed. "I just knew it wouldn't be that easy to get rid of you... and look where we are now" He smirked. I smile and look at the table.

"Well" He sighed. "We're getting off topic aren't we" Coulson smirked before looking down at the file he had. "Alright Kate, just go through what happened on your first mission" He starts and looks up at me. I sigh and sit back.

"Well..." I start.

~0~

After I went through the mission debrief with Coulson I was walking around when I heard someone yell my name.

"Kate!" I turned and saw Sasha run up to me. "Congrats on the successful mission newbie!" She laughed and punched my arm. I rolled my eyes with a smirk.

"It was sort of successful" I laugh a reply. She raised an eyebrow as we were walking.

"What happened?" She grinned.

"Captain Rogers and Director Fury got into a fight over how I should take my target; Peter Holland into custody." I shrug. "45 minutes, I counted" I add.

"Oh my god that's hilarious!" Sasha burst out laughing. We walked down a different hall and I had to laugh a bit too with her.

"It was definitely interesting." I chuckle; taking in the memory.

"So it's official; Agent Kate Rogers" She held her hands out in front of her like she was presenting my name on an invisible banner.

"It's not Rogers yet actual- Dad!" I blurted out when I saw he had walked up. His eyebrows shot up at the volume of my voice and the nodded.

"How'd the mission go?" He asked with a smirk.

"Good" I smile. Sasha turned to me.

"See ya later" We fist bumped before she walked away. I looked back up at him with a smile before we started walking back towards one of the quinjets.

"I got your mission report here" He says; holding a file. I smile.

"Mhm" I mumble; feeling tired. That mission really drained my energy.

"Agent Kate Rogers" He announced as we were walking.

"Mhm," I reply. "Agent Kate Ro-what?!" My eyes flew open and I grabbed the file and saw the name at the top.

Agent Katelyn Rogers

"Holy shit!" I seethed.

"Hey, watch the language" He said sternly before smirking.

"They messed it up" I mumble quickly before handing it back to him. He looked at me before looking back down at the file.

"Agent Rogers" Oh my god. I turned around slowly and saw the Sam Agent that took me to debrief. "You forgot this in the debriefing room" She said and handed me a badge. I furrowed my eyebrows. My badge was in my locker wasn't it?

"Thank you" I reply with a smile.

"Oh, and I fixed the name for you. They got your last name wrong" She smiled before walking away.

My eyes went wide and I quickly opened it up and my heart stopped. It said Agent Katelyn Rogers on the badge.

"Oh my god you've got to be joking" I mumble to myself.

"What?" I heard Steve ask. I held up my badge to him and did a face palm. "Eh, it's not too bad I'm sure Coulson can get it fixed." He shrugged. "If you wanna fix it that is" He adds. I bit my lip before we walked onto the quinjet.

"I dunno; how do you feel about it?" I ask slowly. He looks down at me before looking to our right as he pilots brought the engines to life as we took off.

"If you want to keep it like that you can, I won't stop you" He replied with a smile. I gave a small smile before looking down at my badge.

Should I ask him? I know Sam told me I should but she's always out to make me do that kinda stuff. Technically when a kid is adopted they change the last name automatically. But since our family was a bit... Complicated, everyone thought it best for me to keep my last name for my own safety. But I am an agent now; I can take care of myself.

I stared at the ground a bit longer before taking a deep breath and turning to him.

"Dad can I change my last name?" I ask quickly. He was reading the mission report before he looked up and then at me. What scared the crap out of me was that he didn't respond immediately; it was about 10 seconds before he spoke up.

"If you really want to; yes. I'm ok with that" He replied. I couldn't tell his expression. He seemed happy but I couldn't tell what else there was, maybe excitement? That term isn't really used by him very often so I wouldn't know what it looked like on him.

"Ok then" I smile happily and pull my legs up and hug my knees; putting my chin on them.

**BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! PLEASE READ BELOW!**

**Ok, I'm really excited about what I'm about to tell you so please read the following: I will be putting up a set of one-shots in Kate's perspective on her living with the Avengers. You will see little things that happen here and there at the Tower, so basically what happens when the Avengers aren't saving the world XD and much, much more! Here is the title:**

_**Living with the Avengers**_

**Original right? XD Please check it out soon! After the sequel starts I will probably start putting a few up. **


	62. Chapter 62

Chapter 62

**Hey everyone! I know, this chapter was up pretty quickly but I might take some time for me to get the sequel together and ready to go :) It's half-done but I need to divide it into chapters for you all and make a few minor changes here and there. **

_**Fangirlingsince2001**_**: Don't worry; I will update Fearless as soon as possible! I'm trying to write both of these stories at the same time so I'm trying to keep the creative juices flowing! XD**

**In the meantime, please enjoy this chapter! :) Please review if you liked :) It helps me to know if the story is dragging, and by the number of reviews I get and depending on what they say it helps me get an idea of how to make the story better XD**

**I will **_**not **_**be putting any author notes at the end of the chapter; just a heads up since this is the last chapter. Sequel will be starting on the next chapter just to let you all know :) **

**Enjoy!**

"I wanna change my last name" I tell everyone. I talked to Dad about it and he had me make a final decision. So that night I decided to tell everyone. Pepper smiled and so did Natasha. Clint's and Tony's eyebrows shot up, and Bruce and Thor just nodded with a small smile.

"You mean to Rogers?" Clint asked slowly. I roll my eyes and nod.

"Yeah what else" I reply. He smirks before exchanging a glance with Stev- Dad.

"When was this decided?" Pepper asked with a smile.

"Uh, a couple hours ago" I sum up with a small nod. "After several people thought my name was Agent Kate Rogers, and one of the Agents even changed the last name on my badge." I add before holding it up for everyone to see. Clint and Tony laughed before I shot them a glare.

"So when are you going to get it changed?" Bruce spoke up from the counter. I looked over at him before looking at Steve.

"Probably tomorrow" He said; glancing at me. "That way the rest of the week is free" He adds before sitting on the couch. I was sitting on the arm of the couch to his right.

"Well I hope you guys have fun with that. In the meantime, I'm gonna get a drink." Tony announced and got up; walking towards the bar.

"Cause that's the last thing you need Tony" Natasha replied with a roll of her eyes. He waved a hand at her as if he didn't care as he walked over.

"Pizza is here!" Darcy yelled as her and Jane walked out of the elevator with 5 boxes. After getting food we all sat down at the table and although I wasn't very hungry surprisingly; I still ate a piece. Pepper talked about work for a bit while Thor talked to me about Asgard and how he wanted to take me and Jane for a day soon.

"So what happened on your mission?" Clint asked. Both Dad and I stopped our pizza slice from entering our mouths and I slowly looked over at him.

"Oh yeah, I never got a chance to ask you about that" Natasha joined in. I gave her a smile before slowly putting my pizza down.

"Uh, it was really good" I smiled. "Definitely greater than I thought it would be… I'm glad my first wasn't a group mission." I add. Natasha nods with a smile and Clint nods too.

"So what'd you shift into?" Clint asked. "We should so make notes of this and see which animals you shift into on every mission." He laughs. I roll my eyes and take a quick bite of my pizza.

"Black Leopard" I reply.

"Badass" Clint replies with a shrug. I laugh before taking a sip from my soda.

Later that night we all kinda met in the living room and watched a movie. We watched The Hunger Games and Tony and Clint fought over if the Avengers (plus me) were in the Hunger Games scenario than which Avenger (or me) would be left alive. I soon joined in and made the point that you would never know if I was near you or not since I can shift into almost any animal I can see in my mind. That quieted them down a bit but they still quietly argued over the topic throughout the movie.

Soon they put the next Hunger Games movie in and I was already ready for bed at that point. I got off the couch and walked towards the kitchen; seeing Dad was over by the fridge getting a glass of water.

"Night" I yawned. He turned and saw me walking over.

"Goodnight" He replied and I gave him a quick hug before heading off to the elevator.

~0~

The next day I went with Stev- Dad to go get the last name changed. We had to go to court and all this other crap. It was really boring and the guy there had to talk to me to make sure that I also wanted to change my last name. Weird. _No, Mister Weird court man I'm being forced here against my will to get my last name changed. _I smirked at my own thought as we were in the elevator.

That was a couple hours ago, we just got back to the Tower.

I walked out of the elevator with Ste- Dad and saw Natasha and Pepper on the couch. Dad walked past me over to the counter and I was about to walk over to the couch when someone grabbed me.

"Hey _Rogers!_" Clint laughed and pulled me into a playfully headlock; using his knuckles to mess up my hair. I rolled my eyes and pulled myself out of his grip.

"Please tell me you're not gonna do that all the time now" I laughed. He shrugged before we walked over to the couch.

"How'd it go?" Pepper asked with a smile.

"Good" I reply. "Boring, but good" I chuckle.

"Kate, let me hang onto the papers" I looked over at St- Dad at the counter.

"Okey Dokey" I reply and bring the file over to him.

"What's that?" Natasha asked. I walked back over and sat down on the arm of the couch.

"I had to get a new Birth certificate, Social Security card, and Passport since my last name changed." I reply.

"Wow" Clint smirked; picking up a soda and taking a sip of it.

"Yeah I know, complicated" I laugh; looking over into the kitchen; seeing Steve was sitting on one of the stools.

"Hey Dad" I spoke up as I walked over.

"Could we go for a run?" I asked. "Before it starts raining that is" I add; hearing thunder rumbling outside. He looks up from my file before nodding.

"Sure, go get dressed and we can leave in a few minutes" He smiled. I smiled and nodded before running towards the elevator.

~0~

I shifted into a German shepherd and sat by the door; waiting for Dad.

Seconds later the elevator door opened and I looked over; my ears perking up. He smiled; walks over to where I was and I wagged my tail as he came over.

"Wanna just talk a run like we used to?" He asked. I stopped wagging my tail and looked up to him; tilting my head to the side. "I wanna be able to talk to you" He smirked. I stood up on all fours before shifting back into my normal self.

"But then I slow you down" I tell him. "And talk about what?" I smirked as we walked out the door.

"You don't slow me down" He replied. "And do you not like talking when we run or something?" He asked as we started walking down the street. I shrugged as we were walking.

It was quiet for a few seconds before he turned to me.

"Well I don't know about you, but there's something I need to tell you" He says. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked up at him.

"What exactly?" He looked a bit on edge; just a bit.

"Well, I've been talking with Fury for the last month or so and he wants me down in DC." He says.

I came to a dead stop. He slowed down and looked at me.

"W-what?" I stuttered. "You mean we have to leave the tower?" I asked; looking worried. He sighed and put a hand through his hair.

"It's not official yet Kate, but I wanted to tell you in case it does happen." I looked at the ground and gave a small nod.

"When?" I asked: biting my lip.

"I don't know, probably soon-"

"How long would we be there?" I added quickly. He didn't answer for a few moments and something told me I may not like the answer.

"Months; so we would be living down there for quite a while." He responded. I found my eyes darting to the ground again and I suddenly felt what seemed like a huge weight on my shoulders.

Living at the Tower was all I've ever known with my new family. But- if we live in DC it would just be me and Dad. Everyone else wouldn't be there. Although I'll still have Dad an all, everyone else is family too.

"Hey" He walked over and lifted my chin a bit so I was looking up at him. "It's not official yet ok?" He said with a smile. "Chances are we won't be going down to DC" He adds. I was quiet before I finally nodded and he pulled me into a hug. "Wanna run now?" He asked with a smirk. I took a deep breath; pulling out of the hug before nodding with a smile.

We walked through the park entrance only minutes later and picked up a pretty fast run- well, for me that is. Not for him. I was lost in my thoughts mostly.

Yeah, he's probably right. What are the chances that Fury would want him in DC out of all the Agents? And plus if we do end up going down there, what's the worst that could happen?

~0~

After we got back I saw everyone on the communal floor. Jane and Darcy were playing checkers at the table while Pepper was reading a book, sitting next to Jane. Natasha and Bruce were drinking coffee and talking at the counter, and Tony and Clint were playing Mario Kart; with Thor watching intently.

Dad walked past me and over to where Natasha and Bruce were, while I stayed where I was. My eyes darted around to everyone and I let out a sigh.

I'm living with the Avengers... Me, I'm living with them.

I'm the only person in the world able to say that. I'm finally realizing how special this really is.

"Kate, I could use a hand here" Clint yelled; taking me out of my thoughts. I smile and walk over; picking up a control before I joined in. Seconds later Dad came over and sat down next to me. I gave him a smile and he gave me a smile back before I went back to the game.

Out of the corner of my eyes I looked to everyone; seeing them happy and having fun. The fact that I'm able to be a part of this family means more to me than anything ever will.

This is the place I call home.

_The End_


	63. (sequel) Chapter 1

Chapter 63

**Here is the sequel! :) I'm super excited for this everyone and I hope you are too! Please, please, please review! I wanna make sure I get this sequel right for everyone so letting me know your opinion means so much to me :)**

**Ok… here you go! :D I'm a bit nervous!**

I opened my eyes; feeling the wind from my ceiling fan as I sat up and stretched. I looked around my room; quiet. No cars. Nothing. That's how it'd been the last few months.

Now that my dad-... Ok, so I'm completely, 100%, referring to Steve as dad now. You surprised? I know I was kinda struggling with that before.

But anyway, after he became a full time agent, we decided to move to DC like Fury was trying to get us to do. I was against it at first but Tony and Pepper ended up moving to California for a while and Thor was needed back on Asgard because war broke out across the "realms" as he calls it.

And yeah I know, it's not exactly New York City, but it's nice. So yeah, first I wasn't happy about moving; although I do miss everyone I've found that moving down here has benefited me quite a bit.

We have a pretty good size apartment, an all. Although, I do miss my old room... and everyone at the Tower still; including Sam. We text and stuff but she only visits now and then. She's still my best friend and everything so don't worry about that!

I've also grown in the ranks of SHIELD. Agent Kate Rogers... Despite being with SHIELD for a few months now -officially!-, I still haven't gotten use to the title yet, but I'm not complaining. Being a SHIELD agent is everything I'd hoped it would be. I feel like I have a purpose and that I'm doing good. And plus if I wasn't an agent I know Dad would worry like hell all the time; having to leave me at home for missions.

I pulled my covers back and stretched again before pushing myself to my feet. I walked over to my dresser and pulled out some black sweat pants, a navy blue SHIELD running shirt, and a pair of clean socks.

Once my teeth and hair were brushed, I headed for my door; hearing that sweet creak as it opened all the way and I walked into the living room; passing the radio and couch.

I walked into the kitchen as I finished putting my hair in a ponytail and saw dad over at the counter, pouring a glass of water.

"Morning." He says; turning to face me and the counter.

"Mornin" I slur as he handed me the water jug. I went slightly on my tip-toes as I grabbed a cup from the shelf; pouring it half full and taking a drink; squinting only slightly at the light above the counter. I glanced out the window; only a hint of sunlight in sight.

It was approximately 5:15 right now, so we were making good time. Running every morning had gotten... More advanced, at that. Being a full time agent meant he had to keep up with a daily exercise routine and all that stuff. I still ran with him every morning just-... One all fours, that is. It's the only way I can keep up with him and make sure I get a run in every morning.

I drank the last bit of water in my glass before placing it in the sink. Walking over to the door I slipped on my running shoes and stood back up. He was checking something on his phone; probably messaging Natasha about their previous mission debrief or something. I waited a couple minutes before letting out a breath.

"C'mon dad." I groan; leaning against the door.

"I'm comin', in comin'." He sighs with a nod and puts his cup in the sink before meeting me at the door; putting his phone in his pocket.

~0~

_An hour later..._

My paws stuck the ground as I kept pace with him when we came around the bend. It got a bit lighter out, not too much though. I think I liked running in DC more. Don't get me wrong, NYC is great. But there's something about DC that just has more of a home feeling, seeing all the monuments and all of our history always made me feel at home.

We kept running and I could see a bridge up ahead, along with someone jogging across it.

"On your left." I hear dad say as we passed. He only glanced at us as we kept running. I felt like speaking up... But you know, there's a slight limit on my vocabulary right now. We kept running and I looked to my left and saw the water on my side. I still had no idea how fast we ran every morning. I know the fastest person in the world (not counting Dad) can run like 28 mph... So I wanna clock us one time and see how fast because I'm like- really curious now.

~0~

Around 5 laps later, passing the same jogger every time; on his left, we continued to run and we passed the Lincoln memorial; seeing the jogger.

"On your left." Dad says again. He turned; seeing us.

"Uh huh, on my left, got it." He says. I felt like smiling. He is so messing with this guy right now.

We ran around the Lincoln Memorial and made our way down to the Reflecting Pool.

~0~

After a few minutes and 2 laps later, we reached our start/finish point. We'd been doing more than 10 miles, which was the usual now.

We were passing by the Reflecting Pool again; on the side with the Lincoln Memorial when we saw the same jogger again. I glance up at him. Is he gonna say it?

The jogger turned; seeing us coming.

"Don't say it. Don't you say it!-" He starts.

"On your left." We pass right by him; making the turn and kept going.

"C'mon!" He yells. I look back and see him slow down and stop; looking pretty tired. We continued to run and did one more mile before I could see him slowing down. We came to a stop -finally- and I licked my lips before sitting; looking around.

I barked and looked up at Dad. He put a hand through his hair before looking around for jogger that he annoyed the hell out of.

"Let's go." Dad says; walking toward the guy; who was sitting to catch his breath at a tree. I barked in agreement and trotted after him.

We finally got over and walked around the tree. "Need a medic?" He spoke up. The jogger looked up and chuckled.

"I need a new set of lungs. Dude, you just ran like 13 miles in 30 minutes." He says. Dad smirks.

"I guess I got a late start." He replies. The jogger laughed.

"Oh really? You should be ashamed of yourself. You should take another lap." He says; catching his breath, then looks at him. "Did you just take it? I assume you just took it." He says sarcastically.

"What unit you with?" Dad somewhat ignored his sarcastic comment.

"58th para-rescue. But now I'm workin down at the VA." He says. He holds out a hand. "Sam Wilson." Dad takes the hand; pulling him up.

"Steve Rogers."

"Yeah I kinda put that together." Sam says. "Must have freaked you out coming home after the whole defrosting thing." He says. Dad nods.

"It takes some getting used to." He says. "It's good to meet you same." We turned to leave.

"It's your bed right?" Sam asked. Dad turned back and a moan like growl escapes my throat. One weakness dad, you can't walk away from a friendly conversation.

"What's that?"

"Your bed, it's too soft. When I was over there I'd sleep on the ground and used rock for pillows like a caveman. Now I'm home, lying on my bed, it's like..."

"Lying on a marshmallow. Feel like I'm gonna sink right to the floor." Sam nodded in agreement with a smile. "How long?" He asked. Sam shrugged.

"Two tours." He says. "You must miss the good old days huh?" Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. Don't get started on-

"Well, things aren't so bad. Foods a lot better we used to boil everything-" Sam smirked. If I was human I would do a face palm. "-no polio is good. Internet, so helpful. Been reading that a lot trying to catch up." Dad says. I let out a growl like moan again. Only reason he knows how to use the Internet in the first place is because I showed him. He kept wanting to slide the mouse across the literal screen when I said 'slide the mouse to click next' it was a pain in the ass but also hilarious to watch.

"Marvin Gaye, 1972 "Trouble man" soundtrack. Everything you missed, packed into one album." Sam says. Then dad pulls out his little notebook of "things I need to know about in the 21 century." Well, at least that's what I call it.

"I'll put it on the list." Dad says; writing it down. I bark; looking up at him.

"Oh, and who's your friend." Sam looks down. Dad puts his notebook away and looks down.

"This is my daught-" My head shoots up at him. "-Dog." He corrects quickly. "This is Kate." He says. Christ that was close.

My ears perked when I heard his phone buzz. I looked back up and he pulled it out. He read something off it and I was hoping for a mission. "Alright Sam, duty calls." He shakes his hand. Yes! Mission, boo-ya! "Thanks for the run. If that what you wanna call running." Sam smirks and laughs.

"Oh, that's how it is?"

"Oh that's how it is." He repeats. Sam laughed again as we turned and walked toward the curb.

"Okay. Anytime you wanna stop by the VA; make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, let me know." Sam says. Dad turns; taking a few steps backwards as we reached the curb.

"I'll keep it in mind." He smirks.

"Okay." Sam replies. A black car pulled up and the window came down; reveling Natasha. She had just started flat ironing her hair, it was pretty cool; but some how she makes her hair look nice no matter what...

Oh, and Clint had been undercover for almost a year now. It was a classified mission, no one else knew about it. Hopefully he'll be back soon.

"Hey, fellas. Either of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil." She jokes. I bark a laugh as we walked toward the car.

"That's hilarious." Dad replied flatly. He opened the door and I hopped in the back. Sam nods; looking over the car.

"How you doing?" He asked Natasha.

"Hey." She says to him. Dad turned back to Sam.

"Can't run everywhere." He says.

"No you can't." Sam replied as Natasha hit the gas and we drove off down the road. I shifted back and shook my head around; adjusting myself so I was comfortable.

"Huh, he was cool." I turned back; looking where we were.

"Yeah, he was alright." Dad replied.

"You almost blew my cover." I say with a smirk. He shakes his head with a huff.

"Hey, at least he bought it. Not everyone has a daughter who can shift into animals." He says.

"You're not complaining." I deadpan with a shrug. He smirks and shakes his head; looking ahead out the window. Natasha smiled; looking ahead at the road.

~0~

We got to the Triskelion and we all got out of the car. Since we move to DC, we reported here instead of the carrier. Fury also was down here most of the time so we still had to talk with him about missions and stuff.

"You-" Dad walks over to me. "Have mission debrief that you didn't report for last week." He says. My shoulders slump. Damn it I thought he wouldn't notice. He reminds me of those over protective parents that check their kids' phones, texts, calls, where they've been and such. But he wasn't that bad, he only looked at my mission crap to make sure I wasn't pushing my luck.

"C'mon dad, you know I can do it after the mission." I give him the pouty look. He then gives me a look in return. I huff. "Fine." I mumble. He looks over to Natasha who shook her head

"I wouldn't; not for this mission." She says. He nods. I huff again. Damn it Natasha come on. She usually found a way to get me some cool missions but she's only been able to get me in on two of Dad's missions. He usually stops her, that's why.

Dad turns back to me and I gave him a quick hug. He kissed the top of my head before we pulled out of the hug.

"I'll be back soon" He says before backing up.

"K, love you" I try to smile.

"Love you too honey, now hurry before Fury gives you desk duty" He smirks. I roll my eyes and then walked for the door.

I dropped the smile and huff and cross my arms. Ok, so he isn't too edgy about me doing missions anymore. As of right now I'm sort of almost close to being as good in combat as Natasha and my ability gives me my own edge. I was well known throughout SHIELD for undercover missions. But since dad didn't like me going on his missions very much -he and Natasha had been doing a lot for a while now-. If we were on missions then he worried it would give the enemy the advantage they would need against us-, or whatever.

I walked for the door and went to get changed. I had gotten a new and improved suit, I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty badass. It's pretty much like Natasha's newer suit she currently wears, but it kinda has some of the features from dad's stealth suit color wise, which he wears on all missions now as you all know.

My suit has navy blue fabric, and the leather part is just black. I had the black belt and black fingerless gloves, and brown laced up combat boots that went up just below my knee. There's also a star on my left shoulder as well, like my suit that Tony made me. It's residing in Avenger Tower right now. Yeah, you heard me. Avenger tower, no longer Stark Tower. Instead of Stark he had the entire building modified to fit everyone's needs as the Avengers- I'm Uh, still trying to convince them to let me be an Avenger. I'm hoping that I can when I'm 18 since I'm legally and adult.

And he finished the whole suit for me by the way, though you probably already know, I used to sneak out of the Tower and take it for a spin when still living there. You probably all remember when my dad found out? Yeah, he -like going on his missions- didn't feel comfortable with it.

I walked out of the locker room a while later; in my suit. I walked for the elevator; then stop.

To be specific, I don't _have_ to go to mission debrief just yet. I really wanna go on this mission. It's been a while, like- a week. It may not seem long to you but I honestly, like my dad, I have nothing to do with my life right now. And with how slow business around SHIELD is going these days; this may be the only big mission for another week. Plus I never get to go on his missions.

"Flight deck" I spoke up. There was a moment of silence before the electronic voice responded.

"Confirmed" The female voice says before the elevator started moving. I let out a huff a few seconds later... I have a slight bad feeling.

**Was it ok? :) I hope i do this right guys i really love hearing what you all think so please tell me if you liked it and give me some tips, pointers, suggestions, requests, anything! I'll see what i can do!**

**ALSO! I know the chapter numbering is mixed up and i will be taking the sample chapter for Safe Haven out of this story and fix the numbering in case it was messing anyone up :)**


	64. (sequel) Chapter 2

Chapter 64

**Hi! :D Ok here is the next chapter! I'm so glad I got some reviews it really reassured me that I the sequel is good so far :) Thank you guys so, so much for it; you have no idea how special it is XD Sorry, I know that's cheesy… **

_**powerdtobe: **_**I am so sorry for the confusion, I added in the ending author's note of the last chapter that the numbering was mixed up and that it would be fixed. And I know in the story's summary it originally said chapter 64 was the start for the sequel but I did change it. Again, I'm truly sorry for the mix up I do hope you enjoy this chapter :) **

**AND REMEMBER! This follows events of the movie: Captain America the Winter Soldier so there ****WILL BE SPOILERS**

**Ok… enjoy! :D**

I know, I'm gonna get my ass kicked when he knows I snuck off... But life's no fun if you don't break the rules.

I snuck into the main room; quinjets and crew everywhere. I peak my head out; seeing Natasha and dad walk by; toward the quinjet. I got up slowly and I looked both ways before running; I hopped onto the jet right as the ramp closed; landing and shifting. I looked down; seeing I was a mouse. Cool. I heard the pitter-patter of my feet as I scurried under the seats.

~0~

I have no idea how many hours I've been on this god forsaken jet, but it's getting old.

"The target is a mobile satellite launch platform: The Lemurian Star. It was sending up their payload when pirates took them. 93 minutes ago." I heard a voice, which I recognized as Rumlow. He was second in command of STRIKE; it's kinda like dad's new and improved group of Howling Commandos. But honestly, I do kinda like his old group better, from what dad says they were a good group of guys.

"Any demands?" Dad spoke up; he was wearing his stealth suit as usual.

"A billion and a half." Rumlow turns to him.

"Why so steep?"

"Because it's SHIELD's." Rumlow responds. Dad turns to Natasha.

"So it's not off course, its trespass." He says.

"I'm sure they have a good reason." She responds; her fist on her chin.

"You know I'm getting a little tired of being Fury's janitor-"

"Relax, it's not that complicated." Natasha says. Dad turns back to Rumlow.

"How many pirates?"

"25, top mercs, led by this guy, George Batroc-" he brings up a picture of him. "Ex-TGSE, Action Division. He's at the top of Interpolo's "red notice". Before the French demobilized him, he had 36 kill missions. This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties." Rumlow finishes.

"Hostages?"

"Uh, mostly techs. One officer; Jasper Sitwell." He pulls up Sitwell's info. "They're in the galley."

"What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship?" Dad mumbles to himself. "Alright, I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc, Nat you'll kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep aft, find the hostages, get them to the life pods, get 'em out. Let's go."

"STRIKE, you heard the Captain. Gear up!" Rumlow announces. I felt the jet jerk as the jets gave way and the turbines replaced them, giving us a silent entrance.

Dad held his com up to his mouth.

"Secure channel seven."

"Seven secure." Natasha replies to him. "You doing anything fun Saturday night?" He put his ear com in.

"Well, all the guys from my barber shop quartet are dead, so... no not really." Natasha smirks at his reply.

"Coming up on the drop zone Cap." Dad hit the ramp control and it came down.

"You know; if you asked Kristen out from Statistics she'll probably say yes." Natasha says. I feel like I should grin at that. So Natasha and I have been trying to hook dad up with someone. I know he's not up for it. He doesn't really know I'm in on it, that's why I'm known for undercover investigation.

"That's why I don't ask." See what I'm talking about?!

"Too shy or to scared?" She grins.

"Too busy!" He shrugs and jumps off the ramp; toward the ocean. I rolled my eyes. That's such a lame excuse. And I know he probably just used that line because he was jumping out of a quinjet so it would be all badass without a- wait was he wearing a-

"Was he wearing a parachute?" One of the STRIKE agents asked before I finished my thought. Rumlow smirks.

"No... No he wasn't." Rumlow responds.

...without a parachute. What the hell?! Is this what he does on his missions, jump out of planes without parachutes?! And he says he worries about me. I roll my eyes.

Ok, gotta move now. I look around me, cargo stacked pretty high. I could shift and still not be noticed.

I crawl a little ways before shifting. I tucked a stand of hair behind my ear. Without warning the jet jerked and I was thrown from my hiding place. Everyone, including Natasha turned around. I played it off and ran down the ramp.

"Agent, get back here!" Rumlow yelled. I turn; my feet at the very edge of the ramp and saluted him with a smirk before back flipping off the ramp.

...

Natasha sighed; shaking her heard.

"Who was that?" An agent asked.

"Agent Rogers. The Captain's adopted daughter." Rumlow responded. The agent made a face; not knowing about him having a kid.

"She'll be fine." Natasha assures them. She turns away; her not-fearful face going away. She closed her eyes. "God, Steve is gonna kill her, Steve's gonna kill her, Steve's gonna kill her..." She mumbles over and over, with a hint of fear in her voice to herself as she gets her parachute ready.

...

I shifted out of bird form as I landed on the deck of the Lemurian Star. I looked around; seeing two of the Pirates ahead. Dad must not be on the ship yet. I silently creeped up behind one guy; then exposed myself. I jumped off one of the crates and rapped my legs around his neck; flipping him before landing. I kicked the gun out of the others hand before reaching for my knife; throwing it and hitting him it the chest. I stood back and looked at the half dead bodies in front of me. I know that it used to really bother me a while back. But I've done it so many times now, it just doesn't faze me. I wish it did.

I look to my right; seeing dad jump aboard the ship and strangle a guy. I feel a small wave of fear wash over me and ran for cover 'til he was out of site. Might as well follow him.

I got out of my hiding place; grabbing my knife on the way and made my way down the deck.

A minute later I came across a group of unconscious pirates. One with a knife in his hand. I smirk. I guess he was here.

I picked up a run and kept going. I came to the edge of the railing and looked down.

"Yeah. You seemed pretty helpless without me." I heard the end of Rumlow's remark. Natasha hit the ground; taking off her parachute and walking in-sinc with my dad.

"What about the nurse that lives across the hall from you. She seems kinda nice." Natasha suggested. That nurse, he name was Kate too. We were pretty good friends. We saw her a lot, being across the hall an' all.

"Secure the engine room; then find me a date." He says; slightly annoyed. Natasha jumped over one of the railings.

"I'm multitasking." She calls. I smirk, crawling down and looking around. There were several bodies. I hid behind a few crates and waited for the rest of STRIKE to leave the area. I grinned when the last one was out of site.

Ok, I got two options. One, follow Natasha, and two, follow dad. Natasha probably already told him so... I guess it won't matter. I got up and headed in the way my dad went.

~0~

A few minutes later I looked up when a shield flew through a window and dad was jumping into said window. I shift; flying up to the window ledge and seeing him disappear after Batroc. I shift back; groaning as I clumsily got down and walked after him.

"Natasha, Batroc's on the move. Circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages." He jumped down the stairs and I was about to follow him. "Natasha?" Suddenly Batroc came out of nowhere and he put his shield up in time but a kick but is knocked to the ground. He rolled before pushing himself back to his feet; only for Batroc to kick him again as dad put his shield up to block it. They repeated that at least 2 more times before they both got to their feet.

...Batroc was better than I think we originally thought.

Dad put his shield up again but was knocked on his back by Batroc's kick. He kept putting up his shield to block Batroc's insane kicks and punches and eventually he finally got a grip and knocked him to the floor; allowing him to slide 10 feet or so before getting back up using that bad ass kip up move. Batroc slammed his hand against his chest and went for another go.

I gripped the side of the door as I watched. This guy is crazy?! Who the hell did he learn to fight from; I wanna meet them. Finally, dad got a good hold on him a kneed him in the stomach 3 times before pushing him behind him. The guy did these freakin insane flips and before striking the landing. They looked at each other for a few seconds. It was quiet as I swallowed; still gripping the side of the door.

The guy said something in another language that I didn't know. Dad stood up straighter; putting his shield on his back and taking off his helmet.

Come on dad, now is not the time to show off.

He responded to him; dropping the helmet. They broke into the fight again. I was hiding in the doorway; hoping I wouldn't distract Dad from the fight.

He suddenly delivered a hard kick to Batroc's kneecap and next thing I knew he was the one doing a freaking badass kick; bringing his head to the floor.

"Holy crap..." I mutter. He looked to the doorway.

"Kate?!" He yelled. I cringed at the sternness in his voice. Yep, he doesn't know. I should have followed Natasha. Shit, I'm soooooo in trouble.

Batroc shook his head and got up and I could see the look of annoyance and a lot of anger -thanks to me- as dad ran at him; pushing him through the door and knocking him out with a quick punch. I slid down the stair rail and was standing behind him. Then I rethought what I was doing; and I took a few steps back and turned around; about to leave. Then someone grabbed my arm before I was out of reach and pulled me back into the room. I had to turn around and of course he looked pissed off.

"What are you doing here?!" He asked; a little louder than I originally anticipated.

"I'm uh..." I start; trying to quickly search for an answer.

"Well this is awkward." We both turned seeing Natasha at one of the screens.

"Hey Nat." I smile like nothing happened.

"Hey Kate." She grins.

"What are you doing?" He asked, turning his tone down a little. He gave Batroc one more glance before forcibly pulling me over to where Natasha was.

"Backing up the hard drive. It's a good habit to get into." She gives him a quick glance.

"Rumlow needed your help. What the hell are you doing here?" He let go of my arm; thank god, and stopped on Natasha's left. We both looked at the monitor and I furrowed my eyebrows; seeing she was downloading something. "You're saving SHIELD Intel." He states.

"Whatever I can get my hands on." She says.

"Our mission is to rescue hostages." He says. While they were talking I walked into the next room; looking around. It was filled with filing cabinets and other stuff. I glanced back over as he was arguing with her. You know, something tells me that I just made this mission a whole lot worse.

"No, that's your mission." She replies; taking the hard drive and turned. "And you've done it beautifully." She says with a smile. He grabs her arm before she could walk over to where the door was.

"You just jeopardized this whole operation." He made clear.

"I think that's over stating things." Suddenly there was a beeping noise. I looked over seeing Batroc throw a grenade and I ducked behind the desk. I heard a gunshot and then the glass shattering as they both flew through the window as the explosion shook the ship. My ears were ringing a bit as a cloud of ash came to the floor; covering us.

I peeked out from behind the desk; seeing them sitting against the wall; ash and dust covering them. "Ok, that one's on me." Natasha says; glancing at him.

"Your damn right." He responds before getting up and leaving the room in anger. I sighed; pushing myself up. Natasha banged her head against the wall.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I think I violently slaughtered his good mood." I say with a smirk. She gave me a small smile; I give her a hand. Once she's up she punches me arm. "Ow!" I whine.

"What are you doing here? You know how much trouble you're in?" She says. I shrug.

"Yeah, a lot." I smirk; following her out as we met up with STRIKE... I didn't know how much trouble I was in for...

**Hope you liked the chapter :) I know that most people can probably see where this story is going but the entire sequel will be going far beyond that and into the aftermath of what happens after the movie: Captain America the Winter Soldier. So I hope you stick around and enjoy the story :) Please review if you liked it! **

**ALSO! If any of you have requests of how Kate is involved in the events of the movie (which I where this story is now going) please let me know! Please! I love to get requests, if it's a bit different than what I've written I'll do what I can to change it :)**


	65. (sequel) Chapter 3

Chapter 65

**Hey everyone! I'm so happy at the support I'm getting on the sequel. Thank you all so much! :) It really means a lot to me. Enjoy your chapter! :D**

_**The Great Fuzz**_**: Thank you for the notification :) I do try and put the semicolons in their right spots but my computer (for some reason) loves to auto correct everything the **_**wrong **_**way**_**. **_**It's a pain, but I try to fix them myself as much as possible, sometimes I graze over them though. Thank you! It's in no way offensive by the way XD I like when readers point things out to me that I otherwise would have never known about! Enjoy the chapter! **

We walked off the quinjet and I quickly walked for the door. Someone grabbed my arm and forcibly turned me. I look up seeing dad looking like- really pissed off, like I don't think I've seen him this mad before... Well, I take that back, I've probably pissed him off more than he is now... I hope.

"What the hell were you doing?" He asked; his voice wasn't extremely loud but not a whisper either which kinda made it even more intimidating. I swallow and look at the ground. "Do you know that that was a classified mission? Not to mention you could have put those hostages in jeopardy." He says.

"I know, I'm sorry." I mumble. He lets go of my arm and I rub it. Not that he intentionally tries to hurt my arm. I think he just doesn't notice half the time that he's kinda stronger than anyone else in this god damn building right now.

"You're grounded. No missions; 2 weeks." He snaps; while holding up two fingers. I gave a nod before turned to walk for the door. It was quiet for only a few seconds. "Or let's just make it three weeks since you're so willing to agree with me!" He says.

"What!?- dad!" I argue; turning around. He gives me a glare and I close my mouth. I nod; not looking up at him as I followed him out. Damn, he was getting really good at playing the grounded card. He's never been this pissed off at me before... I don't think. For any over kid, they might actually cry when Captain America starts yelling at them but for me it's pretty normal-… Well, that sounds pretty bad now that I think about it. Maybe I push his buttons a bit _too _much…?

We went up in the elevator and toward Fury's office. I walked in with him but stayed in the doorway.

"You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?" He starts.

"I didn't lie; Agent Romanoff had a different mission than yours." Fury responds from his chair. So he was just waiting for him to barge into his room and start complaining about this mission... That just has to be a sign that you made a mistake there, Fury.

"Which you didn't feel obliged to share." He said back.

"I'm not obliged to do anything."

"Those hostages could've died, Nick."

"I sent the greatest soldier in history to make sure that didn't happen." Fury turns his chair to him. I shrugged to myself. He's gotta point there.

"Soldiers trust each other, that's what makes it an army. Not a bunch of guys running around shooting guns." That is also a good point.

"Last time I trusted someone I lost an eye." Fury stands. It was quiet for a moment. "Look, I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Agent Romanoff is comfortable with everything.-"

Dad's hand was rested above his belt as he was somewhat pointing down at the desk with his other. "I can't lead a mission, when the people I'm leading have missions of their own." This could go on for hours, believe me. These two can argue of anything. And I do mean anything. Oh! Like for example, this one time when I was on my first mission I had to listen to Dad and Fury arguing on how I should go undercover in this building to get this guy; I literally waited a good 45 minutes before they made up their minds- maybe you know about that already, I think so... Anyway, I know I'm zoning out now.

"It's called compartmentalization. Nobody spills the secrets because nobody knows them all." Whoa, big words here.

"Except you." Dad replied. Fury looks down at his desk before looking back up at him. I blinked a couple times and looked around the room; he had a good view of DC from the windows behind his desk.

"You're wrong about me. I do share. I'm nice like that." I smirk as he nodded to the door. I followed them out and we went into the elevator. "Insight Bay"

"Captain Rogers and Agent Kate Rogers do not have clearance for Project Insight." The SHIELD computer says.

"Director Override: Fury, Nicholas J."

"Confirmed." The computer responded and the elevator went down. It was awkwardly quiet for a few seconds. I let out a long sigh.

"You know they used to play music." Dad says after a few seconds. I smirk; glancing out the window to hide it.

"Yeah. My grandfather operated one of these things for forty years. My grandad, worked in a nice building, got good tips. He'd walk home every night, a roll of one's stuffed in his lunch bag. He'd say 'Hi' people would say hi back. Time went on, neighborhood got rougher. He'd say 'Hi' they'd say 'Keep on steppin'. Grandad got to grippin that lunch bag a little tighter." Fury finished. We looked at him for a moment.

"Did he ever get mugged?" Dad asked.

"Every week some punk would say 'what's in the bag?'." He was quiet for a moment.

"Well, what'd he do?" I spoke up. He glanced at me then my dad.

"He'd show 'em. A bunch of crumpled ones, and a loaded 0.22 Magnum." Fury smirks. I smirk and dad only adjusts himself; leaning on the railing. Fury walks to the other side on the left of where I was standing so I was on my dad's right. "Grandad loved people. But he didn't trust 'em very much." Dad looks at the ground before looking behind him. I saw him freeze where he stood slightly and turned more to look out the elevator window. I turned and my mouth dropped. "Yeah I know... They're a little bit bigger than a 0.22."

We looked out the window at the 3 huge Helicarriers. These were much bigger than the original ones and were packed with much more weaponry. The new Quinjet models lined the decks of each as well.

My eyes darted around the 'Insight Bay' as Fury called it; seeing hundreds of people working on this project.

"Holy shit." I muttered.

"Language." Dad said; looking down at me with that still obviously pissed off voice as if he expected me to know better not use bad language. I rolled my eyes as we followed Fury out of the elevator. He has a problem with me cursing as you all probably know.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok I know this is a weird spot to put a shout out but it's important! Ok so before Avengers: Age of Ultron came out, I had already written this. And I just thought Steve would be the kinda person that wouldn't want Kate cussing. And of course when I went and saw Avengers 2 and Steve yelled "Language!" At Tony, (and everyone went on about how Steve doesn't like bad words and such) I knew it was just meant to be! I'm sorry, please get back to reading! XD Had to get that out there XD**

"This is Project Insight. Three next generation Helicarriers synced to a network of targeting satellites."

"Launched from The Lemurian Star." Dad spoke up. Fury gave him a nod as we walked.

"Once we get them in the air they never need to come down. Continuously suborbital flight courtesy of our new repulser engines." I looked over when he said repulser engines; thoughts about my suit that Tony made me came to mind.

"Stark?" I asked. Might as well get into the conversation.

"Well, he had a few suggestions once he got an up close look at our old turbines." Walking farther down, I got a good look at the underbelly of the carriers. Fury looked up; as did Dad. There were tons of –what looked to be- long range guns on it. I swallow. Damn, those will eliminate some targets for ya. "These long range precision guns can eliminate a thousand hostiles a minute. The Satellite can read a terrorist's DNA before he steps outside his spider hole. We're gonna neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen." Fury says; crossing his arms. I furrow my eyebrows.

I don't like this. That doesn't seem right, sense when did SHIELD eliminate threats when there were none?

"I thought the punishment usually came after the crime." Dad says. Fury shakes his head.

"We can't afford to wait that long."

"Who's 'we'?" I asked slowly. Fury looks at us.

"After New York, I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum serge threat analyst. For once we're way ahead of the curb." Fury nods to himself.

"By holding a gun to everyone on earth and calling it protection." I could hear the disapproval in Dad's voice. Fury turned to him.

"You know, I read those SSR files. Greatest generation? You guys did some nasty stuff." Fury says. I let out a breath and took a few steps back; looking around. This could get ugly.

Dad turned to him and by the look on his face I almost got ready to prepare for the worst. "Yeah, we compromised. Sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well. But we did it so that people could be free." He says. Few, thank god. "This isn't freedom-" he points to the Helicarrier to his right. "This is fear."

"SHIELD takes the world as it is. Not as we'd like it to be. It's getting damn near past time for you to get with that program Cap'n." He finished. He glared at him for a moment.

"Don't hold your breath." He turns and starts to walk in my direction. "C'mon Kate." He says; sounding really pissed off again. I don't hesitate to object and give Fury one last look before following him.

Man it seems everyone is just out to be a pain in the ass today... I-Including me...

We walked into the elevator and it slowly went back up. I crossed my arms and looked out the window. Man, this day is really sucking so far.

He didn't look at me or anything else; just at the floor with his arms crossed firmly over his chest.

We walked out of the elevator and after I changed back into my running clothes from this morning; made our way to the garage. I walked toward a random SHIELD motorcycle; sitting down and bringing the engine to life.

"Look." I don't look up from the bike when I heard him speak up. "I'm sorry I snapped back on the deck. I just..." He pauses; probably looking for the right words.

"Yeah, I get it." I mumble. I know that this mission was already pretty inconvenient without me there. "I shouldn't have snuck away on the mission; putting the lives of the agents in jeopardy and not to mention the several other rules that I broke" I add. He just looks at me for a few seconds and didn't respond to my comment.

"I'll drop it back to 2 weeks." He says. I just nod.

"Ok... I'm gonna go for a ride." I mumble.

"Hold it, you still grounded." He says; bringing back the sternness in his voice.

"But-..." He gave me the look again. "Where I'm going is educational." I tell him. He just stares at me for a moment and then lets it a breath; putting a finger and thumb to his temples. I decide to take a different course of action. "Pwease?" I whine; giving the puppy-eyed pouty face before shifting, landing on the floor in a little German shepherd puppy. That usually gets him. He gives me a look for a few seconds; not looking convinced. I hesitate before tilting my head to the side.

"It's a no." He says. I don't move; just keep looking at him. "Kate, I swear if you don't-" he rose his voice and then stopped as two men walked by; looking confused. I look over at them. They gave dad a strange look and then one of them looked at me as they passed.

"Hey Kate" He smirked. I barked before they walked away. Dad's shoulders slumped and he put a hand through his hair and looked back down at me with a "are you kidding me" look. I quickly tilt my head to the side again and drop my one ear before looking up at him with the most adorable and cute face I could muster.

He muttered something under his breath before sighing.

"Fine, get on." He mumbles; nodding to his bike. I bark before shifting back with smile and turn the engine off on the bike I was on before; then waking past him; catching him shaking his head while looking at me as I walked past him and getting on the back of his bike. He didn't like me riding motorcycles by myself anyway. Hypocrite. "Where?" He asked.

"The Smithsonian Museum." He turned back; looking at me.

"Why?" He asked slowly. I shrug. He shakes his head; turning on the bike.

"This better not be a world war 2 museum." He mumbles. I smirk as we left the garage. Not exactly...

~0~

He parked a few minutes' walk away from the Smithsonian and I got off.

"I'm just gonna... look around." I tell him; turning and walking toward the building.

"I'm gonna run home, I'll be back later." He says.

"Ok." I see him furrow his eyebrows as I walked away.

~0~

A few hours later, after walking around the museum, I headed to the area of the museum I'd been to so many times that I could walk it blindfolded.

I walked around and saw the banners with dad in his original Captain America uniform. I slowly heard the narrator's voice grow louder.

"A symbol to the nation. A hero to the world. The story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery, and sacrifice." I walked down the aisle, going into the main area of the Captain America exhibit. "Denied enlistment due to poor health, Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique in the annals of American warfare. One that would transform him into the world's first super soldier." I looked around at the different exhibits on the walls before glancing around at kids. I saw a couple little boys talking and I saw two girls; maybe 12 years old or so; comparing their heights to my Dad before and after the serum. I smiled before looking around some more.

Suddenly I felt someone put a hand on my shoulder and I flinched; turning seeing none other than dad. I blinked a few times looking at the ground. He was wearing a blue baseball cap to hide his face. Well... In a few ways this is almost embarrassing; considering this part of the museum is dedicated to my father... Hehe, it still feels weird when I refer to him as my father... I'll get used to it the longer I use it I guess.

"What 'er you doing here." He says quietly; not even as a question. He didn't sound in any way mad anymore. Thank god. I shrug.

"I go here a lot." I mumble; avoiding eye contact with him. After a few seconds I look to my right slightly; seeing a small boy looking up at him. I smile and see him glance down out of the corner of my eye. The kid was wearing a little Captain America shirt too. Oh my god he is so adorable.

Dad just put a finger to his lips and the boy nodded; his mouth open in awe.

I smile to myself as I walked between them and down toward the other exhibits. I walk around a wall and see the figures with the suits; the Howling Commandos, and my dad.

"Battle tested; Captain America and his Hollowing Commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission, taking down Hydra, a Nazi rouge science division." I looked at all of his Howling Commandos; each with their pictures behind them. I looked behind me; seeing Dad over at one of the exhibits. I walked over. "Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield... Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life, in service of his country." I felt like there was a heavy rock at the pit of my stomach and I could see a lot of guilt and regret in his eyes when I walked up. He looked down before looking at me. I smile and he gives a small smile before moving onto the next exhibit as I stayed to read about Bucky. I had heard a bit about him. He had a picture of himself with Bucky in the drawl of his nightstand. Yeah I was

snooping around, don't judge me. Dad didn't like talking about him, so I came here for answers. Whenever we got into a fight or his was in a bad mood (which is pretty rare), I always came here. Don't know why, it just reminds me of everything he lost and what he went through... Damn, that sounded so cheesy. Please don't judge me and my cheesy thoughts.

I finished reading the passage before walking into the next area. I was about to pass a room when a heard a voice.

"That was a difficult winter. A blizzard had trapped half our battalion behind the German line.-" I stopped and looked in; seeing Peggy Carter. I know that he and Peggy were... Close, at that. This is why he was having a little trouble moving on I guess.

I was about to enter when I saw dad sitting on the seat on the far left. "Steve-... C-Captain Rogers, he fought his way through a HYDRA blockade that had pinned our allies down for months." Peggy paused. "He saved over a thousand men. Including the man who would... Who would become my husband, as it turned out." I glanced over and saw him pull out a... Compass? Inside it was a cutout from the newspaper of Peggy. "Even after he died, Steve was still changing my life." Peggy smiled only slightly as the footage ended. I leaned against the wall and waited for him to walk out. But he didn't. I peaked in, seeing him still sitting their looking at the picture of Peggy in his compass. I cleared my throat and he looked up. He immediately snapped the compass shut and stood up.

"So, have you ever visited?" I asked. He looks at me; confused.

"Yeah, I know she's still alive; she's sick. Why not go see her?" I asked.

"She doesn't need to know." He says walking out. I smirked and followed him out.

"Really? You kinda fought in the Battle of New York. I think she knows you're alive." I state. He walks a bit faster; probably to get away from me... So I hopped into a little jog as I kept up. "C'mon just go see her. It'll brighten your day." I nod to myself as we head for the door.

**Hope you liked the chapter :) Please review if you liked! The next chapter is actually all ready to go; it is a bit shorter though. I hope you guys don't mind :) Have a good week! (I'll get that chapter up soon!)**


	66. (sequel) Chapter 4

Chapter 66

**Yay! Another chapter for you all! :D I hope you guys liked the last chapter; it was a bit quiet on reviews so I had a panic moment that it was a sucky chapter… :| Hope you guys like this one **

I'm awesome. I convinced him to go. I was wondering the halls, trying to get my mind off what they might be talking about. But I was just too curious.

I walked up to the door and peaked in; seeing him sitting next to the bed talking to Peggy who was much older now.

"You should be proud of yourself Peggy." He says; looking at her family photos on his nightstand. Peggy looked to her right at the pictures.

"Mm. I have lived a life. My only regret is that you didn't get to live yours." He gave a small smile. I swallowed and cleared my throat; quietly and walking in. I want to meet her ok? "Oh? And how is this?" She looked up at me. I smiled.

"This is my daughter, Kate." He says. Her face brightened.

"Adopted, daughter." I add, just to be clear.

"It's good to know he has someone to catch him up." She says with a small chuckle. I chucked.

"Yeah, he's getting there." I tell her.

"What made you want to adopt her?" Peggy asked; turning to him. He hesitates.

"It's uh..." He chuckles. "It's a long story." He says. I looked to the door. I should probably give them some time alone. I nodded to him and walked for the door.

"It's an honor to meet you Agent Carter." I turned; backing up and looking at her. She smiled.

"Oh please, call me Peggy, dear." She chuckles. I give a nod and leave the room; still listening to the conversation as I leaned against the wall. "She's a lovely girl, Steve." Peggy says.

"Yeah, I'm a lucky guy." He says.

"How long have you been her father?"

"Almost a year now." He says. Neither of us counted the 5 months I was in a coma. It was quiet for a few moments.

"Is she an agent as well?" Peggy asked. He doesn't say anything, I guess he nodded. "What is it?" Peggy asked after a few seconds. There was a hesitation before he responded.

"For as long as I can remember I just wanted to do what was right. I guess I'm not quite sure what that means anymore... And I thought I could, throw myself back in, follow orders, serve... And although I have Kate-... It's just not the same."

"You're always so dramatic." Peggy chuckles. "Look-" I peeked into the room. "You saved the world. We rather... Mucked it up."

"You didn't." He says. "Knowing that you helped found SHIELD is half the reason I stay." He says. Peggy grabs his hand.

"The world has changed, and none of us can go back. All we can do is our best, and sometimes the best that we can do, is to start over." She says; then smiles. "And by the looks of things, Kate is already helping you w-with tha-at." Peggy started coughing and I flinched. I saw dad get up and grab a glass of water. He sat back down; the water in hand.

"Peggy." He gets her attention and holds out the water. She looks at him; her expression changed.

"Steve?" She says. It was almost as if she forgot everything they just talked about.

"Yeah."

"You're alive! You... You came... You came back!" He nods.

"Yeah, Peggy" Peggy starts to cry.

"It's been so long... So long."

"Well, I couldn't leave my best girl. Not when she owes me a dance." I blinked a few times before speed walking down the hall. I rub my eyes; trying to push away all the feels.

"Damn it, dad. Way to bring the feels into that conversation." I mumble to myself. So I had heard about the last conversation that Peggy and my dad had before he was frozen. And he promised to meet her for a dance... Which he obviously never made it to.

A few minutes later, I glance around the corner; seeing him coming. I walk around the corner.

"Oh, hey dad." I say like I didn't hear any of their conversation. "Ready to go?" He nods; masking any emotions that might be overwhelming him. We then walked for the door.

~0~

"We should go see Sam." I say suddenly. He looks at me as we walked toward his bike.

"What?"

"Well we've been going to all these places, catching up with people and stuff. Might as well go see him." I shrug. He narrows his eyes. "C'mon, you gotta make him look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, remember?" I tell him. He smirks.

"Fine." He says. I grin. Victory! "But you'll have to shift, remember?" He says; slight mocking in his tone. I catch him smirking when I groaned.

~0~

I looked into the room in German shepherd form.

"-a couple of cops pulled me over last week, he thought I was drunk. I swerved to miss a plastic bag... I thought it was an IED." The lady finished.

"Some stuff you leave there, other stuff you bring back.-" hey! It's Sam! "It's our job to job to figure out how to carry it. Is it gonna be in a bag suitcase? Or in a little man purse?-" there were about 10 or so people in the audience. "-It's up to you."

A few minutes later it ended and we walked up to Sam as he finished talking to the lady who talked earlier.

"Look who it is. The running man." He's says. I barked. I'm here too ya know. "Oh-, and the running dog." He adds.

"Caught the last few minutes. It's pretty intense."

"Yeah brother, we all got the same problems. Guilt, regret." Sam says.

"You lose someone?" Sam nodded after a few seconds.

"My wingman, Riley. Fly in the night mission. A standard PJ rescue op, nothin we hadn't done a thousand times before, 'til RPG's knocked Riley's dumb ass out of the sky... Nothing I could do.-" Sam says; looking away for a quick moment. "It's like I was up there just to watch."

"I'm sorry." Dad says. Sam gave a nod.

"After that, I had a really hard time findin a reason for being over there you know?" Dad glanced down at the ground, me, and back up at Sam.

"But you're happy now, back in the world?" He says.

"Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about, zero. So hell, yeah. You thinking about getting out?" Dad shook his head.

"No..." He opened his mouth again; before responding he glanced down at me. "I don't know." He trails off; looking back up at Sam. Wait, wait, wait, and wait. Wait. What the hell?! Why wouldn't he tell me if he was?! "To be honest I don't know what I'd do if I did." Oh- well, I guess that's the only thing stopping him...?

Sam smirks before nodding his head with a reply. "Ultimate fighting?" Dad laughs a little. "It's just a great idea off the top of my head. But seriously, you could do whatever you wanna do. What makes you happy?" He hesitated.

"I don't know." Sam nods. It was quiet for a few seconds.

"Well, it's good seein you again Cap." He shakes his hand. I barked again. I feel so left out people! God! "And you to, Kate." He says with a chuckle. I started panting and wagged my tail; which I've gotten the hang of. Dad glanced down at me from the corner of his eye. It was almost like he was giving me a warning that I was showing too much intelligence... Or something.

He gave us one more nod before leaving the hall. I look up at him.

"We're going home, Kate." He says; not looking down at me; knowing I would come up with some other thing so I wouldn't have to come back to the fact that I was still grounded. I followed him out the door.

~0~

It had gotten dark by the time we pulled into the parking space and I got off the bike.

"I'll get the mail." I call as I went to retrieve it.

"Okay." He says; walking for the door. I was really just giving him time to talk to Kate. We sometimes saw her leaving her room to take her laundry down; usually around this time.

I grabbed our mail before jogging up the stairs. I heard a bit of a conversation.

"You're welcome to use my machine, might be cheaper than the one down stairs." I heard Dad say. I smile to myself.

"Oh yeah? What's it cost?"

"A cup of coffee?" My eyes went wide and I did a fist pump; dropping to mail.

"Aw, Damn it" I whisper before scrambling to pick it up.

"Thank you, but um... I already have a load in downstairs, and uh, you really don't want my scrubs in your machine, a just finished orientation in the infectious disease ward, so."

"Ah, well. I'll keep my distance."

"Well hopefully not too far." A huge grin was plastered to my stupid face. "Oh, and I think you left your stereo on."

"Oh, right. Thank you." Once I heard steps coming my way I walked up the stairs; meeting Kate at the landing.

"Oh, hi Kate" She say. I smirk.

"Hey" I smile warmly before we walked past each other. I looked around the corner to make sure she was out of hearing range; then ran up beside dad.

"See? That's what Natasha's talkin about. You need to do more of that kinda stuff." I say; punching his arm playfully. I then shake my hand off. His damn shoulder hurt, ow. He didn't respond; obviously listening to the music. My face dropped; looking at the door. Wait-... we never turned the music on this morning. "Window?" He nods.

"Yeah." He says; turning as we went for the fire escape.

A few minutes later we climbed the escape and he pulled the window open; first getting in. He gives me the signal and I follow him in. We walked cautiously through the apartment and dad grabbed his shield, leaning against the wall. He peaked around the corner; then he relaxes; looking at the floor.

"I don't remember giving you a key." He says. I heard a grunt as if someone was struggling slightly.

"You really think I'd need one? My wife kicked me out." My eyebrows shot up. Fury?!

"Didn't know you were married." Dad says.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me."

"I know Nick-" Dad steps out from behind the wall. "That's the problem." He turns on the light. I walked around the corner as well. We both look at him in shock; seeing him covered in injuries. He put a finger to his mouth and turned off the light. He types something up on a phone. Then shows it to us. 'Ears everywhere'. They bugged the apartment. God dammit. Dad looked around; slightly pissed off.

"I'm sorry to have to do this but I had no place else to crash." Fury says; showing us another message. 'SHIELD compromised'. My eyes widened and I felt a little part of me die.

"Shit." I mouth. Dad sends me a look; then looks back at Fury.

"Who else knows about your wife?" He asked. Fury shows another message; standing up. 'Just the three of us.'

"Just... My friends." Fury says.

"Is that what we are?" Dad asked.

"Well that's up to you." Fury says; holding his side a bit.

Suddenly a shot rang out; Fury lets out a cry and it is followed by 2 more shots before he falls to the floor. I put a hand to my mouth and backed up as dad jumped in surprised before he pulled him around the corner. I went to look around the corner.

"Kate stay back-" I heard Dad from behind me before he grabbed my arm and pulled me around the corner behind him; I could hear a lot of fear in his voice as he did so and didn't object.

He looks back for the shooter but Fury grabbed his arm; revealing the flash drive. My eyes widened when I realized it was the one that Natasha had on the Lemurian Star. "Don't... Trust... A-Anyone." Fury says; then he passed out. I was still in shock when I heard a banging and someone broke the door down.

"Captain Rogers?" We both looked up; seeing-... Kate?! "Captain, I'm Agent 13, SHIELD Special Service." Kate says; walking up.

"Kate?" We both said simultaneously.

"I'm assigned to protect you both."

"On who's order?!" Dad almost demanded. Kate was now seeing Fury on the ground.

"His." She says; getting to the ground immediately. She pulled out her radio from her pocket. "Foxtrot is down, he's unresponsive. I need EMT's."

"Do you have a twenty on the shooter?" An agent asked through the radio. Dad looks around the corner.

"Tell them I'm in pursuit." He says; before I could say anything he smashed through the window and into the next buildings window. I look after him; making up my mind I got up and ran after him.

"Kate wait-" she started but I ran; shifting into a wolf as I jumped out the window and landed on all fours with a growl; running after him. I can't believe someone shot Fury. The guy's never been shot this bad, we can't lose him if SHIELD's been compromised.

I ran through all the doorways; seeing them in pieces of doors all over the place. Jesus Christ, Dad I wonder how this people will react when they come to work tomorrow.

I see an imprint of his shield on the wall as I ran down and jumped off the wall; seeing him jump out a window. I ran toward the window; seeing him throw his shield. The assassin caught it with a-... Metal arm?! What the hell's goin on?!

The guy looked at him before throwing it back. I leaped out the window and ran past dad, and to the edge.

"Kate-" he says; before running after me. I jump onto the ledge; looking down. No one.

I growled; my ears pinned to the back of my head in anger; looking at the area in front of us. He just disappeared. I look up at dad; seeing him clench his jaw at the defeat of not catching him. "Come on." He says. I nod; shifting back and running after him.

**Please review if you liked :) Next chapter will be up as soon as possible**


	67. (sequel) Chapter 5

Chapter 67

**Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know I should have updated for you all :) Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

We had hopped in the helicopter as they rushed Fury to the hospital.

Natasha suddenly burst through the door and walked up on my left next to me; dad on my right and Agent Hill on my far left of me and Natasha. Sitwell was at the back of the room along with Rumlow. We stared into the room as the doctors operated on Fury.

"Is he gonna make it?" Natasha asked.

"I don't know." Dad says.

"Tell me about the shooter." She asked. He hesitated before responding.

"He's fast, strong... Had a metal arm." I see Natasha's expression change and I furrow my eyebrows.

"Ballistics." Natasha says in Hill's direction.

"3 slugs, no rifling and completely untraceable,-"

"Soviet made." Natasha finished. Agent Hill and I were looking at her now.

"Yeah" Hill says quietly. Suddenly the machines in the room started beeping. We all looked up. I clenched my jaw to keep it together.

"He's dropping." The doctors start talking.

"Crash cart coming-"

"Nurse help me with the gauzes, please- BP is dropping- Defibrillator!" The machines start flat lining. Oh no. Please don't-

"Charging to 100"

"Don't do this to me Nick." Natasha whispers.

"Stand back! 3, 2, 1, clear!"

"Pulse?"

"No pulse"

"Okay, charge to 200 please. Stand back. 3, 2, 1, clear!" They do it again.

"Give me epinephrine! Pulse?"

"Negative."

"Please don't this to me Nick. Don't do this to me. Don't do this to me." Natasha says, over and over again. They all stopped; hearing the flat line. It went quiet and one of the doctors looked down at Fury with regret and defeat. I felt my mouth open slightly in utter shock of what I just saw; feeling my eyes water.

I quickly turned; walking for the door.

"Time of death, 1:03 am." I walked out of the room and could hear dad turn to follow me. I was leaning against the wall when he walked out; turning and looking at me. I look at the ground before feeling him put a hand on my shoulder; I could see a pitied look on his face out of the corner of my eye.

"You ok?" I sniffle and nod.

"I'm fine." I mumble. He gives a small nod; taking his hand away and pulling out the flash drive. He suddenly got serious again.

"What could be so important in that thing for them to kill him for it?" I mumble.

"I don't know." He says.

"Why did Fury assign Kate to protect us? Of all people I don't think we need protecting." I add.

"Again, I don't know Kate." He says. I cross my arms; looking down.

~0~

I was standing next to dad while Natasha was staring at Fury's limp body. I was using up all my skills for undercover to keep it together. It was working, sort of... Ok I was failing miserably.

Agent Hill walked up. We both looked to our left.

"We need to take him." Hill says. I look up at dad; then watch him walk over to Natasha.

"Natasha." He says quietly. She didn't respond and I looked over at her. She placed a gentle hand on Fury's head before taking her hand away and speeding out of the room. He stood there for a second before nodding to the door; walking after her. I walk for the door.

"I'm sorry for your loss Agent Hill." I turned. She gave me a small smile and I nod.

"Thank you, Kate." She says. A give a nod and follow him.

"Yeah, give me a second." I see Dad turn away from Rumlow.

"They want you now." Rumlow pushes. Dad turned giving him a look.

"OK." He says. Rumlow nods and meets up with STRIKE at the door. He turned back to Natasha.

"You're a terrible liar." Natasha says; then walks away. I see him sigh; resting his hands above his waistline, and then looks at the ground.

"She is right about that." I admit; walking up on his left. He looks up at me before looking to his right; something catching his eye.

"What?" I furrow my eyebrows; looking around him at the vending machine. "You hungry?" I say sarcastically.

"Distract him." He says. I don't hesitate to object and I walk by the guy filling the machine; bumping his cart and making candy and chips go everywhere.

"Oh! Sir I am so sorry." I say; going down to help him pick it all up.

"It's fine miss." He says. I glance up; seeing him hide the flash drive behind the gum. I finish picking them up; leaving him without another word and meet up with Dad as we walked for the door.

"Let's go." He says.

"Yeah. STRIKE, move it out." Rumlow says as we walked out the double doors.

~0~

A while later we got back to the Triskelion. We were both called to Secretary Pierce's office.

I was following dad, we saw Kate-... Agent 13 ahead.

"Captain Rogers." She greets.

"Neighbor." He replied coldly. She looks back at him. I give her an apologetic look as we walked up to Pierce.

"Ah, Captain. I'm Alexander Pierce." He shook my dad's hand.

"Sir, it's an honor."

"The honor's mine Captain. My father services in the 101st. come on in." He gave me a quick nod before we walked in. I stood next to the couch and dad was standing in front of the couch and so was Pierce. He handed him a picture of Fury and himself. "That photo was taken 5 years after Nick and I met; when I was at State Department in Bogota. ELN rebels took the embassy, and security got me out, but the rebels took hostages. Nick was deputy chief for the SHIELD station there. And he comes to me with a plan. He wants to storm the basement through the sewers. I said "no, we'll negotiate." Turned out the ELN didn't negotiate, so they put out a kill order. They stormed the basement, and what did they find? They find it empty. Nick had ignored my direct order and carried out an unauthorized military operation on foreign soil. He saved the lives of a dozen political officers, including my daughter."

Dad and Pierce had sat down. He placed the photo on the table. "So you have him a promotion." Dad says.

"I've never had any cause to regret it." Pierce says. It was quiet for a moment and he looks at him.

"Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?" He looked at Pierce for a moment, then at the floor.

"I don't know."

"Did either of you know it was bugged?" He glanced at me. I know dad doesn't want me saying anything so I'll let him do the talking.

"We did, because Nick told us." He says.

"Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it?" Pierce added. Neither of our expressions changed. That can't be right... Can it? "I want you two to see something." He says; bringing up footage. It was Batroc, sitting in an interrogation room.

"Is this live?" I cleared my throat. Pierce nodded.

"Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not-so-safe house in Algiers."

"Are you saying he's a suspect? Assassination isn't Batroc's line." Dad says; looking at the footage.

"No, it's more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star and he was contacted by email and paid by wire transfer. And then the money was run through 17 factitious accounts, the last one going to a hiding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech." Pierce says; a file in hand.

"Am I supposed to know who that is?" Dad asked; taking said file.

"Not likely. Veech died 6 years ago. His last address was 14-35 Elmhurst Drive. When I met Nick his mother lived at 14-37." We both looked up at him.

"Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?" He puts the file down.

"Well the prevailing theory, was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that lead to Nick's death." Pierce says. I was holding back the most faked laugh in my life. Did this dude really expect us to believe that?!

"If you really knew Nick Fury, you'd know that's not true." Dad says; looking at him.

"Why do you think we're talking?" Pierce says. We followed him with our eyes as he got up and walked to the window. "See, I took a seat on the Council not because I wanted to but because Nick asked me to, because we were both realists. We knew that despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric, that to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down." He looks to my dad. "And that makes enemies. Those people that call you dirty because you got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today, makes me really, really angry." He says. I realized dad was standing up now. "Captain, you were one of the last ones to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident. And I don't think the two of you do either." He glances at me; making me stand up straighter. Something about that guy put me on edge. "So I'm gonna ask again. Why was he there?" He asked. He looked at Pierce; hesitating his answer.

"He told us not to trust anyone."

"I wonder, if that included him." He paused again before replying.

"I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse me." He picked up his shield; placing it onto his back before walking toward me and nodding for the door.

"Captain," My dad turned. "Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone." He nods.

"Understood."

"That counts for you to Agent." He says to me. I just gave a nod before dad just put a hand on my shoulder and turned me toward the door; I caught dad's slightly concerned look as we walked out. He walked toward the elevator.

"I'm gonna go see if I can find Sasha." I looked up at him. He stopped and turned.

"Be careful ok?" He says. I nod after a few seconds. He was pretty shaken up about the whole, SHIELD begin compromised thing. I walked for the stairs while he went into the elevator. As you all know; Sasha was one of my good friends at SHIELD. She is a slightly older and more advanced field agent.

I walked down several flights and saw someone coming up. I smile; seeing Sasha.

"Hey Sash" I spoke up. She jumped; looking up and seeing me. She looked a bit startled before smiling.

"Christ K, you scared me!" She laughed. I smirk.

"What er you doing up on these levels of the building?" She asked; looking amused.

"Oh, Secretary Pierce was talking to me and Captain Rogers." I reply. For professional matters I called dad Captain in front of other agents. She nods with a smirk.

"Not everyday someone gets to have a private conversation with that dude" she laughs. I shrug with a grin.

"I'm just lucky like that" I reply. She gives me a look.

"Yeah, it's definitely not anything related to the fact that your Dad is an Avenger..." She laughed sarcastically. I couldn't help but smile and shrug.

"Maybe" I say slowly. She rolls her eyes. I then realize I should probably get going. "Alright, I'll see you later Sash" I sigh. She gives me a nod before we walked past each other.

After walking down all the flights; which was grueling by the way; I made it down to the gym. It was pretty dark; which was kinda unusual for this floor. There was no one here either.

I furrow my eyebrows slightly; walking slowly toward where the training mats were when suddenly my feet were knocked out from under me; making me fall forward; I landed in a roll before turning to fight when I saw no one.

I felt my heart beat pounding in my chest and I felt somewhat vulnerable; fighting in places that are dark and the opponent can see you but you can't see them.

I held up my hands; ready to break into action when suddenly I felt something hit me in the back. I fell to the ground; not before quickly rolling to the side when I saw someone dressed in black.

I pushed myself to my feet before blocking several punches; dropping to the ground and kicking their feet out from under them before they put their hands behind their head and did a kip up. I cursed under my breath before dodging a kick to my head. I turned a bit to slow when suddenly I got kicked right in the side; hearing a small crack.

I cried out before falling to the ground under the pressure of the pain. I clenched my teeth; feeling a pain sprint up and down my side; into my left arm and down to my leg and across my chest.

The figure stopped; looking down at me; they wore a hood and I couldn't see their face as they hesitated.

What the hell are you waiting for?!

I felt a growl escape my mouth before I lunged at them; shifting into a wolf before slamming them into the ground; as they hit the ground the hood fell off and I stopped.

I felt my blood running cold and my breathing came to a stop.

I backed up off the figure before shifting back; struggling to stand up from the pain in my side. I couldn't close my mouth.

"Sasha?" I breathed. She pushed herself to her feet with a cold glare before a look of rage swept across her face.

"It's Agent Anderson!" She growled before lunging at me. She ramped into me and I fell to the ground; hearing her draw a knife from the holster on my thigh I had only a few seconds to bring my forearm up to hers to prevent the knife from cutting my face.

"Sash- "I struggled to push the knife back; I managed to just move it about but my grip slipped and the knife sliced across my cheek. I grunted in pain; biting my tongue in my mouth before she pressed it closer to my throat.

"I'm sorry Kate" she says, "but this isn't personal" I felt the knife inches away from my skin when I slammed my knee up into her gut; making her hunch over in pain. I pushed myself to my feet but when I turned I suddenly hit try ground again as she hit me on my forehead with the butt of her gun. I winced; holding my head as my vision blurred before I jumped; shifting into a wolf as I ran at her; biting down on her suit and jerking my head around; I managed to trip her and she fell into the wall; almost knocking herself out before I shifted back; quickly punching her in the face as she hit the floor.

It grew quiet and all I could hear was my pained breathing.

"Well that kinda felt personal" I breathed. Why would she try to kill me!?

I let myself fall against the wall; holding my side before I realized something. What if they're after Dad too?!

I pushed myself up and jumped; shifting into German Shepherd form. I ran for the door; whining slightly at the jabbing pain that was burning through me.

~0~

I finally made my way out of the building and ran around the corner; hearing bullets. I picked up the pace and jumped; hitting the water. I began to paddle; regretting it immediately from the sharp pain. God damn it, why did Sasha have to be a better agent in combat?!

I eventually made it to shore and shook out my fur before shifting back. I coughed up a little water before squeezing the water out of my hair, then falling onto my back on the shore.

God, why did being one of the good guys have to be so god damn difficult?

I swallowed; taking in a few deep breaths before standing up.

I looked up; suddenly seeing and explosion as a quinjet crashed. I struggled as I picked up the pace and ran toward it; still slightly holding my side.

"Kate!" I turned; seeing dad running away from the crash. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Dad I-" he immediately walked up and started looking over all the injuries on my face.

"Are you ok?" He asked; lifting my chin and inspecting every cut and bruise on my face. I nod.

"Yeah-" I make a face when he doesn't stop looking over every god damn bruise on my face and neck. "Da- Dad! I'm fine" I assure him; pushing his hands down. "W-what is going on?" I ask.

"Who did it?" He demanded; completely ignoring my question. I swallow before responding.

"It's was Sasha..." I trail off. I see his expression soften a bit. He knew she was a good friend of mine. I still didn't understand how she could do it... I thought she was my friend.

"I'm sorry honey" He said quietly. I gave a barely noticeable shrug; crossing my arms firmly.

"It's fine" I mumble. "Anyone else?" I asked.

"STRIKE" He responds. I cough out a huff.

"Son of a bitch." I mutter; getting pissed off. He lets out a breath.

"Hey -" He gives me a look.

"I know, I know. Language." I mumble. He continues to stare at my face which is covered in blood from the knife. I wipe it away with my sleeve before looking back at him. Ow, that hurt.

"Better?" I joke. He doesn't take it funny and looks around.

"First things first, we gotta get undercover." He says. I raise an eyebrow.

"My specialty." I reply. He nods.

"C'mon." He says. I nod; shifting and gritting my teeth to hold back a cry of pain. I think she did break one of my ribs. In the heat of the moment I didn't hear anything, but who knows. I picked up a run as I followed him.

**Did you all like it? Hope you did :) I really don't wanna mess the sequel up for you all; Captain America the Winter Soldier is one of my favorite movies and I really want this story to live up to it a bit if that makes sense XD Please review! :D**


	68. (sequel) Chapter 6

Chapter 68

**Heeeeeyyyyy! I hope you all will like this chapter!**

_**VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE! **_**Part of this chapter includes why Clint wasn't in Captain America the Winter Soldier! I went on the internet and found an interview with Joe Russo! (One of the directors of the movie!) And I based it off what he said the scene would be. So I hope you enjoy this chapter; and how I wrote the scene that was cut from the film :) **

I was following dad; we were still running when there was suddenly a crack of a stick. We came to a dead halt.

I shifted out of German shepherd form and looked around; we were in a ravine at the moment; on the outskirts of DC I think.

A good few minutes went by before we started walking; I glanced up at Dad who looked really on edge.

He was looking to his left when suddenly yelled.

"Get down!" He pushed my down and I only had time to see him lifting his shield when an explosion hit it. We were both thrown farther back and he pulled me to my feet before we took off through the woods.

I looked up; seeing a quinjet coming up on our tail and looked back; seeing a figure running. I couldn't make out who it was as we kept running. We kept running and I realized something. What was that explosion? It wasn't a grenade, and it sure as hell wasn't a missile. It would've had to be something small.

We kept running and I felt a growl escape my mouth before I jumped farther out; shifting and coming to a halt before hiding behind a tree. Dad didn't see me stop until I heard the sound of footsteps and someone ran up on my left. I jumped out and bit down on their leg before pulling them to the ground. I jumped up onto their chest and I immediately stopped. I couldn't believe who was in front of me.

"You got me Kate" Clint grinned; his bow in hand.

Oh. My. God... Oh my god oh my god oh my god.

I pushed off of him and backed up before shifting back.

"C-Clint?" I my voice was brittle. He got to his feet and Dad suddenly ran up and got slightly in front of me.

"Cap'n" Clint said like he was slightly surprised. I could see the look of alarm and shock on dad's face as he was trying his best to hide it.

"Barton" Clint started to take a few steps forward and as he did Dad slowly pushed me farther behind him. It- it couldn't be him. He couldn't be on their side! Why would he do this to us?! After everything!

"Can you believe what's happening with SHIELD?" He seemed really confused about the topic as if he was trying to persuade us. I could tell Dad didn't look convinced at all.

"Yeah" Was all he said and I looked to my right and saw him tighten the grip on his shield.

Clint took a few more steps towards us before Dad took several steps back with me still behind him.

Clint stopped and smirked before glancing up at the quinjet hovering above us. He chuckled to himself before I saw his arm moving just barely.

Suddenly he grabbed an arrow from his quiver and before I realized what was happened Dad slammed him against the tree behind him.

"Dad-" I cut off. I didn't want them to hurt each other. They were like family! Why would he do this after everything that has happened?!

I walked up when I realized something...

He was tricking us- them.

"Trackers" He whispered. I saw Dad loosen his grip on him. "On both your suits" He added. "Don't worry kid I'm on the right side" He smirked at me. I smiled before nodding. Oh my god. For a moment there I felt like crying if he was on their side.

"Come with us then-" Dad started.

"No, I'm still undercover- you gotta knock me out. Make it look real" He cut him off. I swallowed before I saw Dad exchange a glance with me. "Good luck Cap'n" He smirked. "You too K" He gave me a nod and I returned it with a smile. Dad finally let go of him and took a step back before flat out punching him. He immediately went unconscious and I jumped.

"Come on" Dad started backing up before he pushed me in front of him and we took off in a run.

~0~

I pulled up my shirt; revealing my left side was completely black from bruising. I tap it lightly and wince. Well shit, this is just great. Looks like it's broken; perfect time for it to. One of the greatest secret government organizations in the world has just been compromised and now I have a god damn broken rib.

After Clint's warning we made it back into DC and found a gym. We were still here but I stole some clothes to change into and so did Dad. He had already changed and was waiting outside. I was in the bathroom now obviously.

...

After I changed I sped out of the building. I met up with him as we walked to the main road to get a taxi.

After we sat down in the back seat I looked over at him.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"The hospital." He says; the driver nodding as he heard us. He pushed the gas and we sped off.

~0~

We pulled up to the hospital and got out of the taxi. I followed dad in; my cap on my head and we walked down the aisle and stopped at the vending machine. He looked in and stopped. Not just normally stopped but more abruptly.

Oh great. It's not gone is it? I peeked over his shoulder, seeing the row of bubblegum gone... and the flash drive.

"Crud." I mumble; leaning against the wall to his right. Suddenly someone walked up and I recognized it as them- as Natasha appeared behind him. I looked over at her with a small smile. He turned to look at her. Before she could smile back at me Dad grabbed her arm and pushed her into the other room across the hall and somewhat slammed her against the wall. "What the hell are you doing!?" I almost yell; following him in.

"Where is it?" He demanded; taking his hood off.

"Safe."

"Do better."

"Where did you get it?" She asked.

"Why would I tell you?" Her eyes widened, getting her answer.

"Fury gave it to you, why?"

"What's on it?"

"I don't know." She says notch-handedly.

"Stop lying!-"

"I only act like I know everything, Rogers." She responds. He looks back at me and nods to the door. I give him a confused nod and go and stand in the doorway. Sometimes I really wonder...

"I bet you knew Fury hired the pirates didn't you?" He says. She hesitates her answer.

"Well it makes sense, the ship we dirty, Fury needed a way in -so do you.-" he tighten his grip on her arm making her flinch.

"I'm not gonna ask you again!" I continue to look back when Natasha hesitates.

"I know who killed Fury." She says. I turned around all the way; this time closing the door behind me; leaning against it. He slowly let go of her arm. "Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, the ones who do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years."

"So he's a ghost story." I replied. Natasha gave me a barely noticeable shrug.

"Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot at my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight through me." She pulled up the side of her shirt releasing a scar from a gunshot. "A soviet slash, no rifling." She smirks. "Bye-bye bikinis." My dad looks at her.

"Yeah I bet you look terrible in them now." He says. I couldn't tell if that was a sarcastic or serious comment. She looks at him for a moment.

"Following him's a dead end I know I've tried." She holds out the flash drive. "Like Kate said he's a ghost story." She kinda said that like I wasn't in the room...

He takes the drive out of her hand and looks at her.

"Well let's find out what the ghost wants." He replies before hastily turning seconds later.

Natasha walked over to me as Dad walked behind me to look out the door.

"You ok?" She asked. I nodded. Hell no I'm not!

"Yeah I'm fine, what about you?" She nodded and then gave me a smile.

"Let's go" Dad says over his shoulder. I nod before turning to follow him with Natasha behind me.

"So where to next?" I asked Dad as we walked out the door.

~0~

We went to the mall. Perfect undercover right?... I can't even tell if I was being sarcastic or not.

I was wearing my cap on my head and kept my head low; staying at least 20 feet behind dad and Natasha at all times. So we struck a deal earlier on the way here. At first dad wanted me staying by his side the whole time, eventually me and Natasha got it down to more than 10 feet away. Better than nothin I guess.

We walked into a store and I went to the MacBook two down the row from the one Natasha walked up to. I went onto google and pulled up some funny videos; pretending to watch them.

"The drive has a level six homing program, so as soon as we boot up SHIELD will know exactly where we are." Natasha says.

"How much time do we have?" Dad asked.

"Uh... About 9 minutes from..." She plugs in the flash drive. "Now." She pulls up something on her computer. "Fury was right about that ship, somebody's trying to hide something. This drive is protected by some sort of AI; it keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands."

"Can you override it?" He asked. Natasha makes a face.

"The person who developed this is slightly smarter than me. Slightly." She adds. I smirk; looking down at the computer. "I'm gonna try running a tracer. This is a program that SHIELD developed to track hostile malware, so if we can't read the file, maybe we can find out where it came from." Suddenly a man walked up to them.

"Can I help you guys with anything?" He asked. Natasha hugs dad's arm; slightly catching him off guard.

"Oh, no. My fiancé was just helping me with some honeymoon destinations." Natasha says in a high pitched voice and squeals at the end; going back to the computer. I hide my laugh as I look at the screen.

"Uh-, right! We're getting married." My dad adds. I make a face. Smooth dad-... Anyone else see how awkward this is for me or is it just my thinking...?

"Congratulations. Where you guys thinking about going?" He asked. Dad looked at the monitor.

"Uh- New Jersey." He says. I raise an eyebrow.

"Huh." The guy nodded. I look out of the corner of my eye; seeing the guy narrow is eyes and open his mouth like he was about to speak. I saw dad tense a bit. "I have the exact same glasses."

"Wow, you two are practically twins." Natasha replies; her tone about two octaves lower than before. The guy laughs.

"Yeah I wish." The man says. He looks my dad up and down. "Specimen." He says. I choked on my laugh as I tried to hold it in and quickly pretending I was laughing at the video. I see him give me one of his looks out the corner of my eye and I stop. Did he really just say that?! I can't help but smile. "Uh... If you guys need anything, I've been Aaron."

"Thank you." Dad says quickly in hopes the guy would leave. He turns back to Natasha.

"You said 9 minutes, come on."

"Shh, relax..." She says; clicking on something. She grins. "Got it." I glance over; seeing him look at the screen; furrowing his eyebrows at the location.

"You know it?" I whispered over.

"I used to. Let's go." He says; pulling out the flash drive.

We walked out of the store and I made sure to stay farther behind them.

I looked around; seeing two agents behind us; STRIKE agents. I gave dad and Natasha a quick look before disappearing down a different way. My hands were dug in my pockets as I walked for a couple minutes.

I walked down the big isle and eventually came to an escalator; a different one from the one Natasha and dad were heading towards. I stepped on; going down and eventually getting to the bottom. I looked around; seeing Natasha's red hair disappear out the door. I casually walk out; following them.

"Wait for me." I mutter; running up beside them. He only gives me a quick glance before we headed towards a blue Chevrolet truck.

~0~

We had been in the stolen car for a little over an hour now. I was in the back middle; trying to fall asleep while dad was driving and Natasha had passenger seat.

"Where did Captain America learn how to steal a car?" She asked suddenly. I kept my eyes closed; listening in. Ok- now let's pretend to be asleep.

"Nazi Germany... And we're borrowing; take your feet off the dash." He says. I heard a thud of shoes.

"Is she asleep?" I hear her say. I try not to tense. It was quiet for a moment.

"Yeah I think so." He says.

"Alright, I have a question for you, of which you do not have to answer... I feel like if you don't answer it though, you're kind of answering it, you know-"

"What?" Dad asked; a bit annoyed.

"Was that your first kiss sense 1945?" My eyes immediately flew open.

"That bad, huh?"

"I didn't say tha-"

"Well, it kinda sounds like that's what you're saying." He says.

"What?!" I almost shouted; making dad tense at the wheel. "You kissed who?" I asked; sitting up and sticking my head between the seats. Natasha looked back at me with a smirk. I pointed at her; looking at my dad. He gave me the look again. "Nice one." I go to fist pump him, receiving the look again. "Subtle, take it back." I took my hand away and sat back. I thought for a moment before leaning forward and looking at Natasha. "Was he a good kisser?"

"Kate!" Dad says; looking at me as if he didn't approve of me asking that question whatsoever.

"What?...Just curious." I mumble the last part. I look back at Natasha.

"Yeah he was alright." She says with a smirk. I smirk too; sitting back and looking out my window. It was quiet for a few seconds. "Yeah so, I was just wondering how much practice you've had.-" Natasha speaks up.

"I don't need practice." He says. I chucked.

"Everyone needs practice." Natasha and I said simultaneously.

"It was not my first kiss sense 1945." He makes clear. "I'm 95, I'm not dead." He adds. I smirk and look at the floor of the car.

"Nobody special, though?" Natasha asked. He chuckled.

"Unfortunately" I mumble. He looked back at me through the mirror.

"Don't think I don't know about the little scheme between you two" He says. I blinked before swallowing. He knows?! I only mentioned it once right before Fury was killed...

"Believe it out not, it's hard to find someone with shared life experience." He says in Natasha's direction. Natasha shrugs.

"Well, that's alright, you just make something up."

"What like you?" He looks over at her.

"I don't know. The truth is a matter of circumstances; it's not all things to all people all the time... And neither am I." She says.

"That's a tough way to live." He says. She looks ahead for a moment.

"It's a good way not to die, though."

"You know, it's kinda hard to trust someone when you don't know who that someone really is." Natasha turned back to him.

"Yeah... Who do you want me to be?" He looks back at the road for a quick second.

"How about a friend?" He says. Natasha just laughs softly.

"Well, there's a chance you might be in the wrong business, Rogers." She says. They were just looking at each other for several seconds. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Ok- bit awkward here. Like more than I can normally deal with.

I swallow hard and clear my throat. He looks back at me; then at the road.

"Yeah, right. Forgot you were back there..."

"Thanks." I reply coldly, but crack a smile. He gives an apologetic look with a smirk before looking back at the road.

"Radio?" I nod. He looked to Natasha who just shrugged. He turned it on; allowing the music to play.

**Did you like it? I had fun righting this chapter XD Please review! :) **


	69. (sequel) Chapter 7

Chapter 69

**Hey everyone! Here's your next chapter, I hope you enjoy it! :) It's a bit longer than the others XD**

**And OH MY GOD I HAVE OVER 100 FOLLOWERS FOR THIS STORY! I want to send out big thank yous to all you peoples! I couldn't have done this without any of you! :D I might cry… just kidding. I'll save myself the embarrassment. But I hope you all like this chapter :D :D Again:**

**THANK YOU EVERYONE!**

"This is it?" I asked; getting out of the car a few hours later. It looked kinda familiar... But, I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"The file came from these coordinates." Natasha says. I could see dad look up at the plate on the side.

"So did I." I looked closer; the sign said Camp Lehigh.

Wait- wasn't this the base where Dad went to when he was in the Army?

A few minutes later we spread out a little.

I was a few meters behind dad, while Natasha went up a ramp.

"This is the camp where I was trained." He says; looking around. Natasha continued to search for the data-point.

"Change much?" She asked. He stops; looking up at an old flag pole.

"A little." He responds. I walked slightly next to him; looking around. I looked back at him; who was staring at... Well nothing. I waved my hand in front of him, getting him out of his thoughts before he looked at the ground and blinked a few times- then smiled to himself. I just shrugged to myself; a bit confused.

I looked over at Natasha. She held up the tracker and shook her head.

"This is a dead end. Zero heat signature, zero waves, not even radio. Whoever wrote the file must have used a router to throw people off." Natasha says. Once dad looked over at her, his expression changed. "What is it?" He began to pick up the pace; walking around the ramp and toward a building.

"Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards from the barracks. This building is in the wrong place." He says; walking up and breaking the lock with his shield. He pulled the door open and we looked down into blackness. I laughed sarcastically.

"Yeah, you can go first." I tell him. He rolls his eyes; walking down the stairs. I follow as Natasha went in front of me. We walked down the stairs and Natasha found a light switch. The lights flickered on and we could see a big SHIELD symbol on the back wall.

"This is SHIELD." Natasha says as we walked down the hall.

"Maybe where it started." Dad says; looking to his left at the old dusty desks. I picked up an old coffee mug; seeing there was dried up coffee in it. I set it back down; following dad into another room with Natasha.

I could see three pictures on the wall in front of us. Recognizing then immediately. Phillips, Peggy, and Howard.

"There's Stark's father." Natasha nodded to the picture of him.

"Howard." He says. I could see Natasha's eyes trail over to the picture of Peggy.

"Who's the girl?" He gave the picture only a quick glance before turning and walking farther down. Natasha looked to me; I only shrug, even though I knew the answer.

We walked farther down and I suddenly felt a draft next to the book case. I stopped; putting my hand up; feeling wind.

"Dad." I call. He turns back; seeing the draft blowing the cobwebs. I step out of the way.

"If you already worked in a secret office..." He trails off. He gave the bookcase a hard push and it slid to the right. Inside was a-... Elevator?

"Um... Why do you need to hide the elevator?" I ask. Natasha gave me a shrug; walking up and using some kind of device to get the password. She pushed it in and the elevator opened.

~0~

The door opened and we looked out; furrowing our eyebrows at the sight in front of us. It was filled with old computers and ancient technology. We walked up to the main computers.

"This can't be the data-point, this technology's ancient." Natasha says as we walked up. I tapped her shoulder. She turned and I nodded to the very much newer piece of tech sitting on the desk, it was a flash drive port. Someone was here; the dust wiped away by fingers. She hesitantly put the flash drive in. The computer in front of us began to boot up.

"Initiate system?" The computer asked in an electronic voice. Natasha leaned over; about to type.

"Y-E-S, spells yes." She says as she types. The computer roared to life and she grins. "Shall we play a game?" I couldn't help but chuckle. She turned to dad. "It's from a movie that-"

"I know, I saw it." He says. I looked up suddenly when one of the cameras moved.

"Rogers, Steven. Born 1918." It says. My breath caught as the camera moved to Natasha. "Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born 1984." We looked at each other confused. "Rogers, Katelyn. Born 1998." I raise an eyebrow. One, nobody calls me by my full name. And two, it was that updated? I literally changed my last name like 5 months ago.

"It's some kind of recording..." Natasha suggests.

"I am not a recording, Fräulein. I may not be the man I was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945, but I am." A picture came up on the screen of a man, I didn't recognize.

"Do you know this thing?" Natasha asked. I looked at dad who was looking around. He stepped off the platform; walking around the computer systems.

"Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull... He's been dead for years."

"First correction, I am Swiss. Second correction, look around you. I have never been more alive." This is just weird. Now we got dead 1940's scientists in computers. "In 1972 I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body, my mind, however, that was worth saving on two hundred thousand feet of data banks. You are standing in my brain." Ok, weird...

"How did you get here?" Dad asked; coming back up onto the platform.

"Invited." He answered simply.

"Great." I mumble.

"It was Operation Paperclip after World War II. SHIELD recruited German scientists with strategic values." Natasha explains.

"They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own." He says.

"Hydra died with the Red Skull." Dad made clear. I could tell this dude was putting him on edge slightly.

"Cut off one head, two more shall take its place." The computer, or- uh, Zola replied

"Prove it." I spoke up. There were several beeping noises.

"Accessing archive..." Suddenly it brought up video footage. "HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize, was that if you try to take that freedom, they resist. The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly. After the war, SHIELD was founded and I was recruited. The new HYDRA grew. A beautiful parasite inside SHIELD. For seventy years HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed." There was footage from World War 2, some of it of dad.

"That's impossible. SHIELD would have stopped you." Natasha says.

"Accidents will happen." It brought up pictures of Tony's parents. I felt a chill go down my spine, seeing the "crash" was a set up for the assassination of his parents, curtesy of HYDRA. And pictures of the winter soldier with a sniper. Then came up pictures of Fury. "HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once the purification process is complete, HYDRA's new world order will arise." It brought up pictures of dad and words below saying 'the hero who gave everything'. I felt my jaw clench, as we all exchanged glances with each other. "We won, Captain. Your death amounts to the same as your Life; a zero sum-" suddenly dad snapped and sent a punch at the computer; making me jump. God I wasn't ready for that. It was a cracked up now. Zola's face appears on another screen. "As I was saying..."

"What's on this drive?" He asked; stepped forward in front of me. I took a few steps back.

"Project Insight, requires insight. So I wrote an algorithm." Zola says.

"What kind of Algorithm? What does it do?" Natasha asks quickly, getting anxious. I swallowed; looking around. I have a bad feeling.

"The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately... you all shall be too dead to hear it." Suddenly the doors started to close. I ducked as dad threw his shield and it hit the doors as they closed; reflecting off the walls. He catches it and looks around.

"Steve, I got a bogey. Short-range ballistic..." She looks up. "Thirty seconds, tops."

"Who fired it?!" He asked. She gives an anxious look.

"SHIELD."

"I'm afraid I have been stalling, Captain." Zola says. Natasha grabs the drive. "Admit it, its better this way..." I could see the worried look in Dad's eyes as he looked for a way out. He was frantically looking around and I saw his eyes trail down to the floor. I looked down and saw a vent shaft in the floor. Dad yanks it off and gestures for me. I immediately run over and jump in. I saw Natasha run over and she jumps in. "We're both of us... Out of time." Dad jumps in just as the explosion burst through the cement walling all around us. The last thing I saw was him lifting his shield over our heads before it went black.

~0~

"Kate?" I opened my eyes; black.

"Dad?" I ask nervously. I knew it was him; my voice was so shaky though.

"You ok?"

"Yeah." I breathe. Surprisingly. I could hear him struggling and he suddenly pushed the cement piece off and fiery light came in. I coughed several times before he was kneeling down and looking at my head. I furrow my eyebrows and he puts a hand up to my forehead and I winced. He took it way when he did so; it was covered in blood. I try to ignore it; wiping it off on my sleeve. I clench my teeth at the pain. There are more important things to attend to. There was a loud bang outside and he got up to go look. I looked back at Natasha.

"Nat?" I called. She was out-cold. I shook her; nothing. "Dad." I call. He glances in; then comes over and picks her up before I pushed off the rock; following him out. We looked to our right and saw SHIELD jets moving in. He nodded for me to run ahead as we ran into the woods.

~0~

I kept running as we were running back in the direction of DC. This isn't gonna work. I probably have a concussion, a broken rib, and God only knows what else...

Natasha woke up a few minutes after. We've been running for a few hours now. I did indeed shift so they couldn't tell I was in pain. I was in wolf form; I could save a bit of my strength with it. There a hell of a lot more at stake right now, then for them to stop for me.

I was staying in pace with Natasha as she was slightly behind dad.

He slowed down a bit; breathing heavy along with Natasha. I was panting.

"Steve, we need to stop for a minute." Natasha says. He turns to her then looking down at me. He nods; looking away for a brief moment. I shifted back; slowly sitting by a tree.

...

A few minutes later we got ready to go again. I stood up and suddenly my vision started spotting and my breath got shallow. I shook my head, trying to get it together. I stumbled a bit as I started losing my footing.

"Kate?" Dad looks at me. I close my eyes for a second, and then open them. "You ok?" I nod; not saying anything. He gave me a concerned look before glancing at Natasha.

"In fine." I tell him. "We should go." He nodded after a few seconds as we picked up a run again. I didn't bother to shift; it didn't matter from the pain. When injured to a maximum, I don't get any extra strength or stamina, so it won't make a difference either way.

I took in a few shallow breaths before picking up a faster pace.

~0~

It was dark now, and we were still going. My chest was on fire and my head throbbed.

I felt a wave of relief wash over me as we slowed down and I had to put my weight against a tree.

"You sure you're ok?" I look to my left, seeing him looking at me with that concerned look of his. I nod.

"I'm fine." I assure him. I could tell he didn't believe me.

"We're almost out; we should be getting close to a town. We can get a car there." Natasha says. I nodded to her; inching my way down the tree til I was lying somewhat comfortably. I closed my eyes and try and relax.

~0~

**The next day...**

We had finallymade it to DC. I don't know where we were going, but we walked up to a door and dad knocked. I was standing behind Natasha. A few seconds later a familiar face opens the door. Sam! He looked at all of us.

"Hey man." He says.

"I'm sorry about this. We need a place to lay low." Dad says.

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us." Natasha adds. He looks around before answering.

"Not everyone." He opens the door farther; allowing us to come in. I followed Natasha into his house before he closed and locked the door.

~0~

After I took a shower and cleaned up, Natasha and Dad went back to clean up a little. I was sitting at the table and Sam was pouring a glass of water. He hands me one and I take it.

"Thank you." He gave me a nod before turning and putting the jug back in the fridge. He was making us all some breakfast. Nice guy.

"So, your Kate right?" He asked. I swallow some water and nod. "Same name as Cap's dog." He says. I chuckle; looking down at the table.

"Yeah." Was all I said. He continued to cook whatever it was he was cooking before looking down the hall. He puts down the utensil before walking down the hall to call them in.

"I made breakfast. If you guys... Eat that sort of thing." I crack a smile as I heard Sam's comment. A few minutes later dad walked in; followed by Natasha. He sat down in the chair to my right while Natasha was standing to his right. Sam was on my left. I leaned back; closing my eyes for a moment before sitting up. I was tired and sick of this. I know I'm kinda young for having a job like this, buts it's my life now. I can't just leave it behind so easily.

"Kate." Dad says. I look at him and he nods to my head. I put a hand up, taking it away seeing blood. I huff and roll my eyes before getting up and walking into the bathroom. I look in the mirror, seeing it was open again. I make a face at the mirror in frustration before taking some tissues and dapping it lightly.

"Hey uh, Kate. You hungry?" Sam called.

"Oh, um... Yeah." I call. I poke my head out.

"We got bacon, eggs and toast." He says. I nod.

"Sounds good, thank you." He nods, putting a plate on the table for me. I dried my face off before coming back and sitting down.

~0~

After eating I was sitting with my arms crossed while Sam was sitting to my left. Natasha and dad were talking in the hall. I let out a breath.

"So, how old are you?" Sam asked me. I look over at him.

"Uh, 16." I replied. His eyebrows went up; he was obviously surprised. I looked over in the hall.

"Dad? Where exactly are we headed next?"

"Dad?!" Sam asked in confusion. My eyes widened when I realized I'd blurted that out. I face palmed; seeing dad look over.

"Sorry. Thought you told him." I say with an apologetic look.

"You gotta kid?!" Sam looked over at him. He swallowed and walked over.

"Adopted, kid." I add. He still looked confused.

"It's uh. It's a long story, Sam." Dad says.

"Short version, her family was killed and SHIELD wanted to know about her ability that allows her to shift into animals, and if she wasn't a threat, SHIELD was gonna throw her in a foster home, so Steve adopted her." Natasha says. Dad looks at her. "What? That's the quick version." She says. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"She can shift into-" I shifted quickly for effect and Sam jumped when he turned; seeing a lion next to him. "Jesus-..." He mutters. I shift back and sit down with a big stupid grin on my face. "So you don't have a dog I'm guessing." He looks up at him. Dad shook his head. Sam nods after a few seconds. "Well... I guess you can tell me the long story later." He says. Dad walked over, sitting down on my right again and Natasha stood on his right again. Sam got up to get some more toast. We all looked at each other.

"So... The question is: who in SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?" Natasha starts.

"Pierce." Dad says.

"Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world." Natasha adds.

"But he's not working alone; Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star." He says. Natasha looks down at him. I look over.

"Hey, so was Jasper Sitwell." I spoke up. He looked over at me and up at Natasha; then huffs.

"So, the real question is: how do the three most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in board daylight?" Dad speaks up.

"The answer is: you don't." Sam says, walking over; placing a file on the table. Dad looked down at it.

"What's this?"

"Call it a resume." Natasha picked up a picture. Dad stood up to look.

"Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you." Sam nods. Natasha turned to Dad. "You didn't say he was a para-rescue." I looked over dad's shoulder as he looked at a picture of Sam with another guy.

"Is this Riley?" Sam gave a nod.

"Yeah."

"I heard they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use, a stealth chute?" She asked. He shook his head.

"No. These." He placed another file down. Dad picked it up and opened it.

"I thought you said you were a pilot." He says looking up.

"I never said pilot." Sam says with a smirk. Dad looked down before shaking his head.

"I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason." Dad looks at him.

"Dude, Captain America needs my help. There's no better reason to get back in." Sam says with another smirk.

"Well said." I mutter with a grin. Dad gives me a grin before looking at the file again.

"Where can we get our hands on one of these things?" He asked.

"The last one is at Fort Meade, behind three guarded gates and a twelve-inch steel wall." Sam says; a hint of doubt in his voice. Dad, Natasha, and I all exchanged a glance.

"Shouldn't be a problem." Dad says; tossing the file on the table.

"So, how long will all of that take?" I asked dad. He shrugs.

"Hopefully not too long." He says. I nod slowly. Well, I see no way how this could go wrong...

**Hope you all liked it :)**


	70. (sequel) Chapter 8

Chapter 70

**HEEEEEYYYYYY! Sorry everyone! :( I know this took an extremely long time to update, but I hope you like this chapter, and please review also if you did like it :)**

And he was right. Didn't take too long. Now I was flying overhead while Dad, Natasha, and Sam were driving to the location where Sitwell was. Don't know where. Dad just wanted me under the radar, if-, you know what I mean.

After a while we parked around a corner and Sam got out along with Natasha and my dad. Sam walked around a building and gave us the signal. I flew down and shifted; landing in a roll. Which didn't go as well as I planned because I tripped it up. I got to my feet and caught up with Dad and Natasha.

...

We were sitting in front of a window when I realized Natasha had a-... Laser pointer?

"What is that for?" I asked. She shrugged.

"Just a little persuasion." She says; nods out the window. I look out; seeing Sitwell.

"Oh my god, you are not. Can I do it?" I ask. She looked over at my dad who shrugged. She handed it to me and I grinned.

"Ok, once I get the signal, point it at him. Chest shot." I nod. A few seconds went by before she spoke up. "Ok, now." I put the pointer over my forearm and pushed the button. I see the red dot on his tie and he slowly looked down at it, looking around for a sniper. I grin. This is hilarious.

~0~

Dad gave Sitwell a shove as he pushed him out onto the roof. He rolled a few feet before pushing himself to his feet.

"Tell me about Zola's algorithm." He says. Sitwell put his glasses on and was backing up as dad kept walking toward him.

"Never heard of it." He backs up more.

"What were you doing on the Lemurian star?"

"I was throwing up, I get seasick-" He hit the ledge and dad grabbed him by his jacket. Sitwell smiled. "Is this little display meant to insinuate that you can throw me off the roof? Cause it's really not your style, Rogers." Dad just smirked.

"Your right. It's not." He straightens his jacket. "It's hers." He steps out of the way and Natasha kicks him off the ledge. He screams as he plummets toward the ground.

"Oh, wait. What about that girl from accounting, La- Laura-..."

"Lillian." Dad says; staring at the city. "Lip piercing, right?"

"Yeah, she's cute." I say. He looks at us.

"Yeah... I'm not ready for that." He says; quickly looking back at the city.

The screaming came back into hearing and Sam flew up with Sitwell in toe. He drops him; landing with the Falcon suit.

We began to walk toward Sitwell. And I'm not gonna lie, we looked pretty badass; I would have started walking in slow motion if we weren't in a hurry.

"Zola's algorithm is a program!-" he says; putting a hand up in surrender. "For choosing insight targets."

"What targets." Dad says.

"You!" He breathes. "A TV Anchor in Cairo, the undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city, Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who is a threat to Hydra" Sitwell finished. I felt my eyes widen at the names he had called out. "Now, or in the future" I furrowed my eyebrows in a dark manner. This guy is freaking insane.

"The future? How could it know?" Dad demanded. He was quiet before starting to chuckle and then laugh louder. I clenched my jaw; feeling on edge. We should've let him fall off the building.

"How could it not?!" Sitwell replied and then stood up. "The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it." He said. I exchanged a glance with Natasha before Sitwell continued. "Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, e-mails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores." He laughed. "Zola's algorithm evaluates peoples' past to predict their future." He finished. I felt my breathing speed up. Oh my god. How the hell are we supposed to beat something like his when they know our moves before we even know we want to make them?!

"And what then?" Dad asked in a low tone. Sitwell's eyes darted to the ground and he mumbled under his breath.

"Oh my god, Pierce is gonna kill me-"

"What then?!" He took a threatening step forward. Sitwell finally looked up but glanced at me before looking to Dad.

"And then the Insight Carriers start scratching people off the list," He says. "A few million at a time"

I couldn't think straight anymore when I realized Dad started pushing Sitwell towards the stairs. I followed Sam and Natasha out as I got lost in thought.

If they know to kill people based on something as early as SAT scores then were doomed. That'll be it unless we figure out another way to stop them.

We got down to Sam's car and everyone piled in and I shifted into a hawk; taking to the skies.

Sam pulled out of the space and they stated driving. I have no idea where we're going but something tells me they'll have a plan by the time we park the car.

After several minutes of driving on the highway I saw something out of the corner of my eye. A big black car was coming up behind them... fast. Before I even knew what was happening there was a man climbing out of the car and jumped onto Sam's; smashing the window.

I couldn't think straight as I realized it was the Assassin that killed Fury; as he ripped Sitwell from the car and through him in front of a truck.

I got taken out of my thoughts and I dived; talons ready to strike. A hawk can dive-bomb prey at 65 mph and can hit with enough force to knock someone out.

I got closer and closer before finally striking the Assassins head with a shriek. I managed to knock him a bit. But before I could keep flying his metal arm slammed into me and I went off the side of the highway.

My vision blackened a bit before I saw the ground getting closer and closer. I let out a caw before flapping my wings; catching myself just feet from the ground.

I shook my head around from the impact before hearing and explosion. I looked up and saw Sam's car rolling down the highway before it finally crashed.

My eyes went wide before I flew back up; seeing that they made it out ok. I flew over quickly and saw Dad and Natasha pushing themselves to their feet. I shifted back and ran over to them; standing beside Natasha.

"Kate get out of here now" Dad turned to me.

"No I'm gonna help!" I tell him. He looked back at me.

"Kate go-" he stopped and turned.

Suddenly I saw the Winter Soldier again and as he pointed a giant gun at us; I couldn't make out what it was. Before I could do anything Dad was pushing us to side and Natasha pushed me ahead of here as I heard an explosion and then Dad was gone.

My head shot to the side as I saw him hit a car and then fly over the bridge and into a bus; the bus was hit by a truck and the bus flipped over into its side.

"Dad!" I pulled out of Natasha's grip and started running towards the edge; threw an open area of gun fire and to the edge.

I jumped over and shifted into a hawk again before I shifted back; falling the last few feet. I let out a small cry as I hit the ground and clutched my side where I believe that I broke a rib. Taking a few deep breaths I pushed myself to my feet and ran towards the bus. My adrenaline started to kick in and I was sprinting towards it as I managed to crawl through a broken window. I looked to my left and saw several injured people. Seeing a small boy on the ground I hurried over and picked him up; he was crying but clutched my neck and whimpered.

"Shh, it's ok" I soothed before I walked out of the bus; seeing several people had gotten out. Someone ran up to me and I knew it was the mother.

"Thank you" She sobbed. I gave her a small smile before running back in. A man was helping a woman up when I saw someone at the far end of the bus. I ran past them and over to Dad; kneeling down.

"Dad-" I shook him a bit but he was out. I grabbed his one arm and started to pull him up. It got lighter and lighter and I saw him coming to as he finally pushed himself up. He shook his head before looking at me.

"You ok?" He put his hands on my shoulders before I nodded and stepped forward and hugged him.

Gun fire could be heard a ways a way and I hoped they didn't know where we were yet. He pulled out of the hug and looked down at me.

"I need you to go get somewhere safe ok?" He asked. I was about to reply when hundreds of bullets started blasting through the underside of the bus. We ducked and Dad pulled me over to his left side as me started running. He jumped first; smashing the glass and rolling out of the bus window; picking up his shield as he went.

I shifted into a Bengal Tiger and jumped out with a roar before running up beside him; dodging bullets.

"Kate go!" He yelled at me. I didn't hesitate to object as they started firing at me too. I ran past several cars til I was out of the enemy's view.

People were screaming all around me and running in all directions. I slowed down when I saw one person walking. What are they doing?

I walked a bit faster but stopped when I realized who it was. The Winter Soldier.

I felt a growl rising in my throat before I stalked behind one car; watching him with cautious eyes. It had gotten very quiet as everyone had run away from the area.

I walked closer and closer before he stopped and looked to the right. I stopped mid step and listened. My eyes widened when I heard Natasha.

Oh no.

I started to run a bit faster but then once I sniffed the air I couldn't pick up her scent. I stopped again and got low to the ground and looked under the cars; seeing that she was not there.

If she's not there than where-

Suddenly there was an explosion where Natasha's voice was coming from and before I could act she was jumping over a car and landing on the Assassins shoulders.

I was behind one of the cars when I shifted back into my human self and got ready to intervene if necessary.

The Winter Soldier grabbed her arm and threw here; making her fly over a car before she hit the next one and fell to the ground. I took that as a cue and ran over. The assassin saw me and started walking towards where I was going; Natasha.

I got over to her and started to help her up. Once I helped her to her feet she stepped to my left and threw something before we took off running. I heard what sounded like some kind of metal being hit and I recognized the sounds as one of Natasha's electric disks that were small; about the size of a thumb.

Natasha had me running in front of her before she called out.

"Your father said to get away from here" She said.

"No he said to go" I reply.

People were running all over the place around us and I think we both realized they could all be shot if the Soldier was following us.

"Get out of the way!" Natasha yelled and I turned in time to hear a gun shot and Natasha letting out a pained grunt as she skidding onto her knees.

I came to a dead stop and turned around; dragging her over behind a car. I immediately started pressing my hand over the gunshot wound and she gave a pained face.

It was extremely quiet now but I wasn't concentrated on that; I needed to make sure that Nat wouldn't bleed out in front of me.

Before I could get a good look at how bad the sound was I heard the loading of a gun and a bang of metal when we both turned and say the Winter Soldier pointing a gun at us.

I didn't even have a change to move before his attention was turned on something else and I heard the echo of Vibranuim.

Dad?!

I looked out farther and saw him getting knocked off a car before hiding behind his shield when the Assassin opened fire.

"Kate, you need to get out of here" She snapped.

"Hell no" I snap back. "I need to put pressure on this wound before anything else" I tell her. I knew that she knew I was right but she still argued with me.

"If you get yourself hurt because of trying to help me your father will kill me" She growled. I didn't respond for a few seconds.

"I think you can put up with him if that happens, now let's get you more cover so I can try and see how bad this wound is" I tell her.

She finally lets me help her up before we started walking away from the fight.

I could hear bullets behind me and I closed my eyes briefly and took a deep breath. Dad will be fine; he trains all the time for stuff like this... That's what I wanted to tell myself at least.

We get a bit farther away and I helped her get down beside a car. The bullet just missed bone so she should be ok.

"Kate you gotta get out of here" She gave me a stone cold glare.

"That look doesn't work on me Natasha" I remind her. Suddenly there was a bang behind me and I turned to see Dad's shield slam into the back of a van.

I turned back to Natasha and started putting pressure on her wound.

"Kate-"

"I'm not leaving" I cut her off. I turned to see the Winter Solider hit the van to our left. Seconds later Dad ran up and slammed him into it again before going to throw a punch.

I quickly turned back to Natasha as she went wide eyed.

I turned back again before seeing the Winter Soldier climbing to his feet before he grabbed Dad by the neck.

Before I could get up and run over Natasha grabbed me.

"You're not going anywhere" She growled. I glared at her before turning back; seeing Dad go flying over the car when the Winter Soldier jumped over and punched the ground where Dad was. I flinched before seeing Dad quickly get up and they broke it a fight again.

"Let's go" Natasha said. I helped her up and we walked around the fight. I couldn't take my eyes away from where Dad was. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest with fear as I watched.

Seconds later the assassin slammed dad against the van before ripping a knife from his thigh and almost stabbing him with it. Dad started pulling him down the side of the van; the knife slicing through the metal before he threw the Winter Soldier over him and they both fell. He did a kip up before grabbing his shield from the van and they broke into a fight again. They both turned at a certain time and next thing I knew Dad slammed his shield into the assassin's metal arm before hitting him in the face; flipping him over.

The Winter Soldier struck the ground in a role and I noticed that the mask had fallen from his face. It got quiet as the assassin wasn't facing us before he tur-

Oh. My. God. It's- it's Bucky. Like, Dad's Bucky. His best friend.

I couldn't close my mouth as everyone was looking at him; waiting for him to make a move.

"Bucky?" I heard Dad speak up. Bucky had a cold glare on his face.

"Who the hell is Bucky" He replied and he pulled a gun on Dad. I looked to the sky; seeing Sam- Falcon kick Bucky to the ground before he could take a shot. Dad flinched a bit but otherwise didn't move when Bucky stood up and hesitated before raising his gun again.

Before I could even realize what was happening Natasha was pointing a bazooka at him.

"Natasha!" I yell and push the gun up and it just missed Dad and hit a truck. Bucky disappeared in the smoke and then it cleared.

He was gone.

What the hell just happened? I couldn't think straight for a few seconds when suddenly several cars where pulling up. Dad still hadn't moved; his eyes were locked on where Bucky was standing before.

I looked over and saw several SHIELD agents running towards us and STRIKE also.

Several ran towards me and one grabbed my arm. I felt rage wash over me and I turned and my head slammed into his helmet; making a crack before I kicked his legs out from under him.

I then realized the several agents that were now coming at me before they all acted. I ducked a punch from one before kicking him in the chest.

"Kate- stop!" Natasha yelled at me as she was being led away.

I managed to fight two more off before I got jabbed in the stomach with something and I felt a jolt of electricity run through my body and I let out a cry of pain before stumbling.

"Kate!" I heard Dad behind me before I saw gun pointed at his head and I immediately shifted before roaring at the three agents surrounding me. By the time I had hit one of them I got smacked against the head with something and felt myself shift back before I was out.

**Please review if you liked! :D **


	71. (sequel) Chapter 9

Chapter 71

**Hey everyone! Hope you like this chapter; please review if you liked it :)**

I began to stir when I heard voices. I strained to hear a bit when I caught Dad's voice.

"Even when I had nothing I had Bucky" I heard the end of his sentence. My head was on fire when I managed to open my eyes; feeling movement. I opened then a bit more before seeing Sam and Natasha in front of me. I looked around a bit before seeing Dad to my right along with two "SHIELD" agents at the front.

I went to act when I felt metal. I looked up and saw my hands cuffed and the chain was hanging over a bar on the ceiling of the car; my hands hanging a bit higher than my eye level. I looked down before seeing my feet locked into the actual car.

"What the hell" I growl before trying to move.

"Kate don't-" I turned to Dad before seeing him shake his head. My eyes shifted down; seeing he was literally locked into the car. Metal incased his hands and legs and a giant metal bar was across his midsection.

What the hell do they expect us to do? It's not we can go anywhere. Natasha and Sam were cuffed as well.

"Wha-" I started to talk before closing my mouth; eyeing the two guards. I felt a glare cross my face before looked away.

"Are you ok?" He asked me in a quiet voice. I swallow before nodding.

"I'm fine" I reply quietly. I looked over at Natasha and Sam; seeing that she had a pained face. My eyes went down to her shoulder and I saw the thin trail of blood running down over her jacket.

I saw Sam look over too. He then spoke up.

"We need to get a doctor here. We don't put pressure on that wound she's gonna bleed out right here in the truck-" The guard jabbed the Taser towards him and Sam didn't add to his comment. I saw Natasha lazily look over at them. It was dead silent for a moment and I just closed my eyes; laying my head back.

Suddenly there was a crash and my eyes shot open when the one guard stabbed the guard on our side of the bus; kicking and snapping his neck before knocking the guy to the ground.

The other guard sat back up and let out a sigh before taking the helmet off.

"That thing was squeezing my brain" Agent Hill?! I felt my eyebrows shoot up. It was quiet and Sam looked at us with a small smile of shock before looking back at Hill. She looked at us.

"Who's this guy?" She asked. We were all quiet for a few moments.

~0~

"Kate" Dad whispered. I nodded before lowering myself down the whole in the bottom of the truck. The truck had parked right over a drainage hole so we got down that. Dad started walking down the pipe tunnel -it was tall enough to walk down- and I was about to follow when I realized something. I bit my lip before pulling myself back up.

If we're going to make a stand we'll need Dad's shield and Sam's Exo-7 Falcon suit.

I shifted into a small mouse before crawling under the car and next to the tire.

"4 holes start digging!" That was Rumlow. ...They were going to kill us and bury our bodies out here in the middle of nowhere... Assholes!

I heard them open the doors and guns click but then they froze; obviously seeing that we weren't in the car.

"Find them!" Rumlow yelled and everyone spread out. I waited til they all were away from the car before crawling out and shifting back. My eyes darted around before I went to the car behind me and looked into the window of the passenger seat. I grinned when I saw Dad's shield peeking out in the back area of the van.

I looked around briefly before going to the back and opened the doors.

"Alright" I breathe to myself before leaning in and grabbing both. I swung the Exo-7 suit over my shoulder before grabbing Dad's shield.

"Hey!" I felt my breath catch when I saw Rumlow running towards me through the windshield. I quickly turned and broke into a run; limping slightly from the pain in my side. I made it farther out before I shifted into the first thing that popped into my head.

Suddenly several guns started going off. I felt a searing pain cross my arm suddenly and I let out a screech of pain. Looking down I saw that I was a griffin. (She looks like the griffin in the third Harry Potter movie) I was gripping the shield and suit in both my front talons.

My wings pushed through the air as they took me higher and higher before I felt another searing pain in my wing and I lost feeling in it.

I let out a pained cry before I shifted back into my normal self and I was plummeting towards the ground. I looked down; seeing I was about to hit water. I cross my arms over my chest before I felt myself being submerged.

Everything went dark before I managed to open my eyes under water; looking up seeing Rumlow and several other agents looking down into the water next to the dam. It felt like forever went by and there was some hesitation before they fell back and I finally surfaced to get a breath.

At least I don't have wings so that injury doesn't affect me. I looked at my left arm and saw where the bullet skimmed my skin. It was blackening with bruises already and bleeding.

I cough several times before taking a deep breath. I stuck my head under water before seeing a pipe in the damn wall. I was still holding the suit and shield before I took a deep breath and went under; swimming towards the pipe.

I swam into it and started down the pipe. It should resurface to the drainage tunnel that everyone else went down. I kept swimming and felt my lungs start to burn. I saw just a bit of light ahead and then heard muffled voices. Oh no, that's Dad. I probably just scared him to death by disappearing. Not to mention there were gun shots.

I swam faster before getting to the surface. I came out of the water and started coughing. Oh god, that was close.

I covered my mouth slightly with one hand; coughing into it before throwing my left hand up with the shield on it. I dropped the shield on the ground of the tunnel and continued coughing. Seconds later I saw someone running over and I looked up to see Dad looking like- really worried.

"Kate, what the hell were you doing?!" He asked; kneeling down before pulling me up onto the ledge. I waved a hand to say I'm fine but he didn't even notice. I saw Sam, Hill, and Natasha run up seconds later.

I looked back down at the water; coughing some more. Water was still in my lungs and it hurt; I couldn't breathe really yet.

"Hey," He lifted my chin up so I was looking at him. "What were you doing!? They would have killed you!-" I looked to my left. He was on my right; slightly behind me. He was still looking at me. I could see the worry in his eyes before he looked over and stopped; probably seeing his shield sitting next to me. I still had a hand on the strap of the Exo-7 suit before I lifted it out of the water and handed it to Sam.

"Thanks Kate" He says; taking it. I just nod before looking back down; coughing into my hand again. I could still see Dad looking at me out of the corner of my eye.

"Please be careful next time" He breathed before pulling me into a hug. He pulled my head closer to him before leaning his head on mine. I sniffed in a breath; feeling my teeth chattering a bit from the cold. I felt him flinch slightly and pull away. I leaned back quickly; realizing he noticed the bullet that skimmed my arm.

"Hill," He looked up at her.

"I have a van waiting" She says. He nods before I got to my feet and Dad picked up his shield. Sam and Natasha walked past us with Hill leading.

I started walking next to Dad before he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him as we were walking.

"I'm sorry" I speak up with a cracked voice. He didn't answer back for a few seconds.

"It's ok" He whispers back before quickly kissing the top of my head as we were walking. "Be careful next time ok?" He asked. I nodded quietly as we were walking. "I can't lose you Kate" He says. I was still looking at the ground before I nodded. I could hear his voice almost crack but he hid it well. I don't want him always worrying but it seems that as long as he's my dad there's really nothing I can do to stop him from worrying.

~0~

After getting to the van Hill drove us to another abandoned dam just outside DC.

She pulled the van over and we climbed out while Dad helped Natasha out of the van. She was losing a lot of blood; I could literally see her weakening by the minute.

We quickly walked inside and Dad was helping Natasha. I looked up and saw a man running towards us.

"GSW, she's lost at least a pint" Hill called to him.

"Maybe two" Sam added in.

"Let me take her!" He called over. I glanced over and saw Natasha putting more and more weight on dad as he was helping her down the hall.

"She'll wanna see him first" Maria replied. I furrowed my eyebrows slightly but kept walking as we came to the end of the tunnel and I saw some screening covering the opening.

They pushed it away and we slowly walked in before stopping. My jaw dropped when my eyes landed on Fury sitting in a bed.

He looked up warily and stared at us for a few seconds.

"About damn time" He grumbled.

"Son of a bitch" I growled under my breath. For once Dad didn't even seem to notice as we all were staring at him.

"Nick?" Dad asked when the doctor led Natasha over farther to sit down.

"In the flesh" Fury replied in a wary voice.

"Kate come over here" Hill said to me. I looked over before going to sit on the ledge of a stair.

"What injuries?" She asked. I pointed to my arm. I'll take a look at my rib later. If they know about it they won't let me back in the fight and I can't be taken out of it just like that. Dad would flip to. He would start to worry more.

I bit the inside of my cheek as she started cleaning it and then she wrapped it tight with a bandage.

I looked over as Nick was explaining his injuries.

"Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collar bone, perforated liver... One hell of a head ache" Fury grumbled.

"And don't forget your collapsed lung" The doctor spoke up as he was putting a bandage on Natasha.

"Oh, let's not forget that" Nick looked up. "But otherwise, I'm good" He summed up.

"They cut you open; your heat stopped" Natasha spoke up; looking over at him.

"Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress; didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it-"

"Why all the secrecy, why not just tell us?" Dad asked. He seemed a bit cautious about him still being alive.

"Any attempt on the Director's life had to look successful" Maria told him as she tightened my bandage.

"Can't kill you if you're already dead" Fury adds. "Besides... I wasn't sure who to trust" He says.

I saw the look on Natasha's face. I hope she wasn't thinking of herself when he said that. Of all people Natasha is the one I think I've trusted the whole time besides dad. I've honestly been through so much with her; I know she wouldn't do that to us. And I know Clint wouldn't either, but we didn't even know what was going on at the time.

~0~

"You need to get some rest" I looked over and saw Dad walk over to me. I was still sitting on the step. Maria finished the bandage a while ago and I was now just staring at the wall; thinking about everything that has happened.

"I'm fine" I mumble.

"How's your arm?" He asked; kneeling down next to me. I glanced at him briefly and shrug.

"It's actually fine, it doesn't really hurt" Lying to his face can be easy sometimes and hard at others. Easy in this case.

He lets out a breath before nodding.

"Any other injuries I should know about?" He asked. I could tell he was a bit more serious now. I hesitate. Should I tell him? My rib is really bothering me. I can barely stand now; that's why I've been sitting down. Maybe if I give it a break it'll be fine by the time we go back out in the fight. It's not like they have anything here that'll help me.

"No" I finally say. He looked at me for a long moment.

"Kate-" He started again; raising an eyebrow.

"Dad I'm fine" I tell him in a serious tone. He finally nods.

"Alright" He sighs before kissing the top of my head. "Get some rest, you did good" He smiled. I give a smile and nod before he got up and walked back into the other room.

I let out a sigh and scratched the back of my head.

I wonder what the plan is from here. I mean we'll have to take the fight to Hydra obviously so how the hell are we gonna do that.

Making up my mind I got to my feet and slowly walked to the other room. I stopped in the doorway and saw Sam talking to Natasha. Sam turned slightly, seeing me in the door way.

"Hey K" He gave a small smile. I smiled back before giving a nod when my eyes went over to Natasha. I kept a smile on my face to mask the throbbing pain in my side.

"Kate" I heard Natasha ask slowly. I blinked several times and looked to her.

"Hm?" I breathed. My brow furrowed when suddenly I saw my vision blurring a bit. I slowly reached out for a wall to lean on when I let out a breath; feeling myself getting dizzy.

Seconds later I could see blurry shadows of them walking towards me before I felt a few arms supporting me up.

"Hill" Natasha called. I blinked slowly to see two more figures walking over.

"Kate-?" Dad. Damn it, I couldn't hold out for just a little bit longer. I saw another figure walk over before I realized I was being led somewhere.

Before I could realize what was happening I was lying down and I felt something cold on my midsection.

"She has a cracked rib, it's been bothering her for at least two days now" The was the Doctor Fury had here.

"A cracked rib, how didn't we see that." I couldn't hear who that was.

"She obviously masked her pain well, this can be excruciatingly painful if not set properly"

I finally just gave up and let my eyes close.

**Please, PLEASE review peoples! XD I know these last few chapters might have been boring for some of you but If you've seen the movie you know it's about to get a bit crazy **


	72. (sequel) Chapter 10

Chapter 72

**Hey everyone! :) Here's the next chapter, I know it's a bit short but that's because a lot is happening in the next chapter! :D Hope you like it**

I felt a small groan leave my lips when I cracked my eyes open. I was still in the same room except I was on a bed. I looked around before sitting up a bit. My side didn't hurt as much. My fingers brushed over my shirt and I felt a bandage. I guess that doctor wrapped it.

"We have to stop the launch" I heard Natasha from the other room.

"I don't think the Council is accepting my calls anymore" Fury replied and there was some silence.

"What's that?" Sam asked. What were they doing?

Pushing myself up I got to my feet and; slowly walking to the door. I peeked out to the point where they didn't notice me standing there.

"Once the Helicarriers each three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites; becoming fully weaponized" Maria explained.

"We need to breach those carriers, and insert their targeting blades with our own." Fury adds. There was a case with three chips in it.

"One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carries for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational..." She trails off. "A whole lot of people are gonna die" She adds.

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carries is Hydra. We need to get past them, insert the server blades and maybe, just maybe we can salvage what's left-"

"We're not salvaging anything!" I heard Dad suddenly speak up. "We're not just taking down the carries Nick; we're taking down SHIELD" He said.

"SHIELD had nothing to do with this-"

"You gave me this mission, this is how it ends" Dad made clear. "SHIELD's been compromised, you've said so yourself. Hydra was right under your nose and nobody noticed"

"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave?" Fury asked. "I noticed" He added.

"How many paid the price before you did." Dad replied. Damn it, he's talking about-"

"Look, I didn't know about Barnes" Fury adds a bit quieter.

"Even if you had, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalized that too?" He asked. "SHIELD, Hydra... It all goes" He says. Preach away Dad. Preach.

"He's right" Hill adds. I saw Fury look at everyone. Fury finally looked at Sam.

"Don't look at me, I do what he does just slower" Sam says. I smirk.

"Well" He sighs. "Looks like you're giving the orders now Captain" Fury says. I swallowed before looking back into the room. I have to go with them. I'm not staying here in a god damn bed the whole time.

~0~

I was sitting on a bed of some sort when Dad walked in in a suit. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Look familiar?" He asked with a smirk. I narrowed my eyes at first before the widened.

"Did you rob your own exhibit at the museum?!" I laughed. He nodded.

"If you're gonna fight a war, you gotta wear a uniform" He shrugs. I rolled my eyes before he sat down on the edge of the bed. I didn't say anything for a few seconds.

"Why didn't you tell me about this" He points to my rib. I look down briefly before looking back up.

"I knew if you all knew about it, you wouldn't let me fight" I say quietly. "And I wanted to help" I add. He nods after a few seconds.

"Look, Kate-" He starts. I swallow as I looked over at him. "Whatever happens today..." He starts. I furrowed my eyebrows just barely. What?

"What do you mean?" I asked slowly in confusion with a pretty innocent face. What he just said scared me. You don't say that when you leave for a mission or anything. In fact no one ever said that at the tower when they went on big Avenger missions to save the world... But he was taking this on alone. "You're coming back right?" I asked. He hesitates to say anything before he smiles and nods.

"Yeah" He says; sniffling in a breath before nodding. "Yeah" He says before standing up and leaning over to kiss my forehead. "Get some rest ok?" He told me. I nod before giving him a hug.

"Love you" I tell him. He tightened his grip as he was hugging me and I squeezed my eyes shut briefly. Ouch.

"Love you too honey" He responded. I swallowed and a hurt look crossed my face. He's acting weird. Why is he so emotional right now, he sounds like he wants to cry. He finally pulls out of the hug and smiles.

"You ok?" I asked; looking a bit worried. He laughs and nods.

"Yeah, fine" He smiles. "Get some rest ok?" He says again. I nod.

"Wanna get some Subway sandwiches when you get back?" I asked. After runs and missions we did this thing where we went to Subway and got foot long subs and a half a dozen chocolate chip cookies to lay back and enjoy. Kinda like what I did with Sam a while back.

He gave a small smile.

"Yeah" He says. "Yeah that'd be fun" He smiles bigger. I nod and smile. He finally walked for the door.

"See you later" I call. He looks back and nods.

"Love you" He says.

"Love you too" I smile big and he finally walks out of the room. After he was gone my smile slowly faded and I just sighed before letting my eyes close.

~0~

A few hours had gone by and I was starting to worry a bit. Taking a deep breath I narrowed my eyes and started to think. I hadn't seen that look on him before. I don't know what he meant when he said "whatever happens"... Usually I hear it in movies before said character is about to do something crazy and either almost dies or does die.

My eyes widened.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, and wait. If they're taking down Hydra, doesn't that mean he has to confront Bucky?

I suddenly felt panic take over from there. I know he well enough to know he won't end it if he has too. The man doesn't remember anything and if I know my Dad; he'll give his life to get his best friend back.

I quickly pulled the covers back and swung my feet over. My ribs were wrapped tight. As long as I didn't push too much I should be fine.

I suddenly heard footsteps. Damn it, the doctor. He won't let me leave.

I quickly shifted into a mouse and ran under the bed.

Seconds later he walked in and stops.

"Oh no" He mumbles before running out of the room. I quickly ran out from under the bed and shifted back before running for the door.

~0~

I shifted out of bird form as I landed on the Flight Deck outside the Triskelion. People were here and there and suddenly the speaker sounded.

"Attention all SHIELD agents, this is Steve Rogers" I stopped walking at the sound of his voice and so did everyone else. "You've heard a lot about me over the last few days... Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down, but I think it's time you know the truth" I found myself looking down as I listened and it got quiet briefly. "SHIELD is not what we thought it was; it's been taken over by Hydra. Alexander Pierce is they're leader. The STRIKE and Insight Crew are Hydra as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building" He says. "They could be standing right next to you..." I let out a breath as I listened; seeing other people had stopped and we're looking at each other. "They almost have what they want, absolute control. They shot Nick Fury... And it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today Hydra will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way... Unless we stop them" He continues. "I know I'm asking a lot. The price of freedom's high, it always has been. And it's a price in willing to pay... And if I'm the only one then so be it, but I'm willing to bet I'm not" I smiled as it ended and I saw several people looking around at each other. I could see the scared, confused looks in their eyes. That's exactly how I felt at first. Now it's time to get down to business.

I took the com link from my ear and turned it on. I may have stolen one from Hill. I hot-wired it to their frequency so I could get on Natasha's, Dad's, Hill's, and Sam's line. I should hopefully be able to get connection when we get high enough in the air... If the carriers take off that is.

~0~

This is not good. This is very not good. The carriers are in the air and I'm stuck on the ground still; fighting off a few Hydra agents.

I jumped and wrapped my legs around the agent's neck before flipping and striking a landing as I let go. He groaned and rolled across the ground. I quickly ran over and blocked his kick before spinning and kicking him down again; knocking him out.

"Kate" I heard someone growl. I slowly looked up at the voice and felt my expression darken.

"Sasha" I growled back; standing up straight. She had a knife in hand. Taking a few steps to my right I started taking steps to the left as we walked around in a half circle.

"So this is where you really lye" I state. "Was that "time" machine intended to kill me? Or was that not part of the plan" I smirk in a pissed off way. Sasha chuckles.

"Actually no. I invited you so we could hang out but when that happened I knew I could take advantage of it" She smiles. "I got in contact with Jack" She says with a shrug. I stopped and glared at her. "Since I've been to the tower before I knew how to get past Jarvis and get a man inside. I figured since you were little you'd be easier to take out" She then glares.

"Well that's where you screwed up, because I have a family that gives a damn about me... Unlike you" I spat. Her family abandoned her as a child. That was the only true info I knew about her. She yelled before running at me and we broke into a fight.

I dodged her knife blows while throwing in a punch or two as we fought on the deck.

I pulled her arm to the side and exposed my rib too much; giving her the chance to kick me in the side. I cried out before quickly turning me snapping her arm back and she screamed out. I just dislocated her shoulder I think. She picked up the knife and threw it at me and it hit my thigh. I dropped in pain and grunted; biting my tongue. She got to her feet and let out a breath before flipping and kicking me to the ground. I flipped over and landed on my stomach; blood oozing from my mouth like a waterfall.

"You know I actually liked you Kate" She says from behind me. I struggled to push myself up and I grunted in pain. "It really hurts me to have to finish this mission" I could feel her standing over me and I heard the click of a gun as she kneeled down beside me. I quickly turned and ripped the knife from my leg before stabbing her in the stomach as the gun went off.

**I know I know, you guys hate cliff hangers but I couldn't help myself :)**

**PLEASE REVIEW! XD The next chapter will be up hopefully pretty soon. **


	73. (sequel) Chapter 11

Chapter 73

**Here is your chapter; to those of you who don't check very much for new chapters. I updated yesterday so make sure you read that first. XD **

**Now this is a very long chapter, I'm sure some of you like that though :) A lot happens and please don't hurt me when you finish reading. I may have changed the movie a tad little bit but I hope it's ok :D I'm nervous! **

**Oh, and I cried a couple times when writing this XD Just a heads up. If you cried when reading feel free to let me know, it means I'm doing my job right XD**

I stared into her eyes for a good long moment. I coughed on the blood filling my mouth as she looked down at her stomach; seeing the knife imbedded in her midsection. I slowly pulled it out and she winced and grunted in pain; choking on blood before I rolled her off of me. My shaky hand went up to my ear; feeling that the bullet just missed my head by inches. My ears were ringing.

I got on my hands and knees and over to Sasha's side.

Oh my god what have I done. What did I just do!? I wasn't trying to kill her!

"Oh, Sasha-" I start; pressing on the wound to stop it. She was coughing up blood and her eyes were fearful and filled with pain. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" I stopped myself; looking around. "I'll find help" I tell her; about to get to my feet. She grabbed me by the shirt and I looked down at her.

"Don't" She says; spitting out blood. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What? No! I need to get you to medical- Hydra or not I'm not gonna let you die" I tell her. She shook her head and was quiet for a few seconds. I waited patiently until she finally spoke up.

"I know I screwed up" She coughs and had a dry smile on her face. I felt my eyes water and I smiled and nodded.

"That you did, Anderson" I laugh. She swallows before coughing again. I bit my bottom lip to keep from crying. I can't bear to watch this.

"Let me go get you help, you won't die Sash-"

"N-No" She cut me off. "Stay" she pleaded. I clenched my jaw before nodding. "Don't leave me alone" I saw tears sliding down her cheeks. I opened my mouth to speak up and stopped myself; not sure of what to say.

"I'm sorry" She whispers. I smile; pulling my mouth together in a thin line before smiling.

"It's ok" I breathe. "You were following orders, nothing more" I tell her. She nods and breaths out a laugh before coughing again. Blood oozed out of her mouth onto the pavement. I felt myself throw up a bit in my mouth but I hid it.

"It's ok" I repeat. "You're not alone" I smile and sit next to her. She nods and grabs my hand. I take it and squeeze it tightly.

"Make sure they don't win" She says. "Hydra that is" She adds before nodding to herself.

"Of course" I smile; feeling a tear slip down my cheek. She nods again before she began coughing. I opened my mouth to speak but I could get anything out. She jolted and choked and I bit my lip; tears streaming down my face. She looked at me the whole time before I saw the light leave her eyes. She coughed once more before it got quiet. I felt her strong grip on my hand loosen and she stared into nothingness.

I squeezed my eyes shut; feeling another tear slip as I breathed out through clenched teeth. I looked away for a moment before turning back to her; letting my fingers slip over her eyes; closing them.

I finally got to my feet when a sudden explosion went off. I looked around and saw the quinjets being blown up one by one. Guns were being fired and a huge commotion was going on.

Minutes went by before I saw the last quinjet still intact and an officer trying to power it up.

Taking a deep breath I got up and ran towards it. I got over to the cockpit and waved at the pilot.

"Do you need help?" I called. He looked up and opened his mouth to speak when he looked behind me. I saw in the reflection of the cockpit and I felt my expression darken before I turned around.

My eyes landed on the Winter Soldier. He had a pistol in his hand and he wasn't wearing the mask. I let out a breath and felt my fists clench.

Within a spit second I shifted into a black leopard and bolted towards him. He aimed his gun before firing. I dodged easily and tackled him to the ground with a roar. He held his arms up to block my swipes and lunges to bite him. Before I could dodge he swung his metal arm around and knocked me off him. I roared; shaking my head around when he suddenly pulled me into a headlock. I roared; trying to get out of his grip before he fell back while I was laying on him slightly.

Oh my god this is it.

I roared as loud as I could; trying to get out of his grip. I couldn't breathe anymore and kept quiet; saving what breath I had left in my lungs, but if that didn't know me out then the loss of blood flow will.

I finally shifted back and sucked in a breath; giving me the opportunity to slip out and roll away before getting to my feet. I got into a fighting stance and I noticed his gun several feet slightly behind me.

I finally put both eyes back on him; my breathing heavy. Damn it he has a good grip.

I growled before running at him and we engaged in fight.

I slid down on my knees to avoid his punch before I spun around his legs and knocked him off balance before grabbing his arm and pulling be back up to my feet; using his fall to bring me up. He rolled back before quickly recovering and running at me. I didn't have time to move before he rammed into me and knocked me back on the ground. My head smacked against the concrete I blacked out for a few seconds.

It took me a bit to get my sight back and everything was blurry as I looked up at him. He was now kneeling down on my left and I noticed the knife in his metal hand. My breathing was shallow as I swallowed and looked to the side; seeing the carriers in the air.

My eyes went back on him and before he could make a move with the knife I shifted. Now I don't know what I was trying to do... But I've never shifted smaller than a mouse.

It looked very different; my vision was more than 180° and it was hard to see as I flew into the air and left the Winter Soldier looking around in confusion. I was a fly if you didn't already figure it out.

He finally got up and turned. I realized he was looking at the pilot I talked to earlier. I shifted back into human form and ran after him as he was now climbing onto the cockpit with the gun.

"Look out!" I yelled as I fell to the ground when I completely shifted back. The pilot looked up in time for him to fire the gun. "No!" He threw the gun away seconds later and I ran over before picking it up when he ripped the window off the cockpit. I got his gun before firing it several times towards him. He took off in the air and I fired til the last bullet before I cursed and threw the gun to the ground.

Ok. I need something fast. I thought for a moment and I hatched an idea. A grin crossed my face and I took a deep breath before clearing my head of outside thoughts.

Focus.

My eyes shot open and I jumped and shifted with a roar as I flew into the sky. Damn this is bad ass.

I looked down seeing that I was a dragon. You heard me. Dragon. I've never done anything like this before. It requires a lot of energy and focus to shift into big animals. When I shift back I might not be able to shift into anything else for a while or even walk for a while. So yes, this is a big risk in order to catch up to him.

**(She looks like the dragon Saphira from the movie Eragon; it was one of my favorite movies as a kid... :) despite it not necessarily going along with the books) **

I felt my wings push me higher and higher into the air as I flew after the Winter Soldier who was heading towards the carriers.

Suddenly I felt pains prick my wings and I roared before seeing another quinjet flying towards me. My wings brought me higher and I made an immediate u turn as I dived down and slammed into the jet before snapping the wings.

I dodged the gun as it fired dozens of rounds at me before I bit down on the wings and snapped them.

I finally released it and it fell towards the ground.

Seconds later I flew up towards the carriers; seeing the quinjet I was following before was almost to its destination. Carrier 0-1.

I felt something rumble in my throat and I gritted my teeth as I pushed higher and higher into the air before finally getting closer to him. I finally roared and an inferno engulfed the back of his quinjet as I was shooting fire. I saw it lose control and I bit down on the back of it before seining around. He lost control and crashed onto the flight deck of the carrier. I flew up and landed gracefully before slowly approaching. I couldn't see in the cockpit. Suddenly a shot was fired and it hit my wing; causing me to roar in pain before I finally shifted back and hid behind several crates. The gun fire stopped and I looked out; seeing that he wasn't there. I let out breath of relief before letting myself slump down.

"Oh god" I breathed. I could barely see straight. I had never shifted like that, endured that much pain when in a shift, or shifted for that long. It was taking a major toll.

My vision was spotty as I looked around to make sure no one was around me. But it was dead quiet. I could have sworn I just heard voices though... Probably Hydra.

I took a few deep breaths before standing up... Not before I stumbled back down to where I was.

"C'mon Sander- Rogers" I quickly correct myself. I think that did something because I suddenly got a burst of adrenaline and I let out a breath before I ran for the doors.

~0~

I dodged a blow from the agent before grabbing there wrist and pulling it back; hearing a snap as I dropped and kicked their legs out.

I dodged a bullet before picking up the other agent's knife and hurling it at the other guy. It hit him in the chest and he let out a cry before falling to the floor. I let out a breath; breathing heavy as I looked up and down the halls at the dead or unconscious Hydra agents I had taken care of.

Now I just need to get back up to the flight deck.

I took off in limping run as I ran down hall after hall before I had it to the door. I pushed it open and I jumped when I heard a gunshot. Where'd that come from? I looked around quickly and didn't see anything. Maybe it's coming from the bowl.

I ran towards edge of the carrier; feeling queasy as looked down. Another gun shot went off and I flinched before taking a deep breath.

I don't know if I'll shift or not. I think I can handle it but I won't know til I jump.

"You can do this" I muttered to myself. I took a deep breath as I backed up a few feet. Letting that breath out I ran towards the edge and jumped. I went out several feet and focused as hard as I could before I shifted into a hawk.

I let out a caw instead of yelling "yes!" Since tha wasn't really in my vocabulary.

I flew down a ways and I flinched when I heard a third gunshot from the carrier and squinted slightly to see inside before I flew closer to the bowl. I found a whole in the glass and quickly got inside before shifting back into my normal self. I coughed a few times; holding my side before looking around. Damn it that definitely took a toll.

"Charlie locked" I could barely hear a voice. It was farther away. But also in my com link; staticy. It sounded a lot like-... Wait, wait, and wait- that means the last carrier is ready to go.

"Ok Cap get outta there" That was Hill. Ok Dad's still here somewhere I just don't know where.

"Fire now" Dad?! I felt my eyes widen. Fire now? Why fire now, why when you're still inside the god damn carrier!?

"But Steve-"

"Do it!... Do it now!" He yelled that like an order. Why wouldn't he be leaving-...? How is he supposed to come back if he doesn't leave?

I started to look around when suddenly I heard guns open fire. My head shot up and I felt a small smile come onto my face. We did it. Mission complete. Probably my last mission for SHIELD ever. Even though I wasn't necessarily allowed to go.

I looked around some more and realized I was in a bad spot. I quickly shifted and flew to the main catwalk above.

He sounded hurt now that I think about it. I started to run towards the main control area of the carrier where the targeting blades were. I ran around the corner and stopped at what I saw.

"D-Dad?" I shakily spoke up. He was pulling himself to his feet slowly. His head shot up and I'd never seen him so scared in his life- Mark my freaking words.

"Kate what are you doing here?!" He asked; his voice shaky. I looked down and saw blood staining his suit. He was shot. And I don't mean a skimmed type one; like on my arm, I mean he was shot right through the stomach. I felt a small mental pain hit me in the gut when I remembered when I got shot.

"A-Are you ok?-"

"Listen to me; you can't be here right now!" He put a hand on my shoulder and I noticed his right arm was almost limp; holding his shield. I could see blood coming from it and also running down the side of his suit. He was shot in the shoulder too?! And he wasn't putting much weight on his left leg. He was shot in the thigh. Oh my god I'm gonna throw up.

"But what about yo-"

"You need to get out now" He told me; getting louder. I didn't know what to say. He sounded so scared and I didn't know how to react. It was making me panic; knowing he was afraid-... He was never afraid!

His eyes kept looking behind me before back on me several times like something was down there.

The carrier was falling apart around us. And I ducked a piece of debris.

"But you're coming to right?" My voice cracked as I asked when the carrier shook again and he lost his balance; gripping the railing.

"Yeah I'm coming, go!" He told me. I just nodded before jumping off the side railing. I tried to shift but it didn't work well and I landed with a thud on metal.

I let out a cry of pain before gritting my teeth. I was putting too much pressure on my rib. I could barely shift. I looked up and saw Bucky as he let out a cry of pain too. He was stuck under a piece of a metal support beam. I felt a small growl escape my throat when Dad jumped down next to me and pretty much let himself fall flat to the ground. He couldn't even put weight on that leg to strike a landing. He got to his feet and helped me up but didn't let go of my arm.

Once I was on my feet I looked up at him; feeling the wind from the cracked and broken glass around us as the carrier was falling apart around us and flames were increasing.

I furrowed my eyebrows at the way he was looking at me.

"Dad?" I asked; looking worried. He looked upset before he closed his eyes before looking down and then back up at me.

"I'm sorry" He told me and he suddenly pushed me forward. Next thing I knew I couldn't feel ground and I dropped. He still held my arm and pulled me up so I could grip the side of the panel.

"Dad!" I yelled in shock. "What are you doing?!" I yelled; looking down at the water beneath me hundreds of feet down.

"Kate- I'm so sorry" He started; letting go of my arm so I could hold onto the side. I was breathing so hard from fear. What the hell was he doing?! And why was he sorry? I don't understand. And he knew I was afraid of heights!

I stopped struggling to pull myself up when I realized it. He was going to get Bucky out. I looked over at Bucky and then at him.

"N-No, you don't have to do that" I start. "He doesn't remember" I felt my eyes begin to tear up and I couldn't control my breathing.

"Hey calm down-" He started in a calm voice. I cut him off.

"Please" I sucked in a breath. "He'll kill you" I tell him; feeling a few tears slip. He was quiet for a few seconds.

"No he won't" He says in a calm voice again.

"How are you so calm right now?!" I was pretty much crying now.

"Kate-"

"Please-" I cut off; not able to finish my sentence. "I have a really bad feeling about this, please come" I begged.

"I love you" He quickly told me and brushed the hair from my face before kissing my forehead. I squeezed my eyes shut; feeling more tears slip.

"I love you too" I reply; my voice brittle as several more tears fell down my face.

"Remember when I first adopted you?" He asked. I couldn't even begin to describe my expression. I was crying I was angry I was so freaking upset. I didn't know what was going to happen and it scared me.

"Yeah" I sniffle.

"It was the best decision I have ever made" He tells me. I bit my lip.

"Dad why are you telling me this" I sobbed. He clenched his jaw briefly. I knew he was getting weaker and weaker. I could see him losing his ability to keep balance. "Please come" I whispered.

"I'm not gonna leave you ok?" I told me. I stared at him for a few more seconds. "I'll be right behind you, I just need to get him out" he adds.

"You promise?" I could barely speak through my crying.

"I promise" He gave me that smirk of his and I was about to tell him I love him when I felt my hand slip and my eyes widened.

"Dad-!" I yelled; scrambling to get my hold back. Before I could grab the ledge he grabbed my other hand and lowered me out of the Carrier bowl. "Please don't let go" I told him. He looked so hurt and torn. "Daddy please-" I coughed on a sob. I could see his eyes watering slightly. I can help him! He doesn't have to do this alone!

"Katie I'm sorry" He says. He never calls me that. I know he did when I was a toddler but not other than that. I looked at him for a few more seconds before he let go.

"Dad!" I yelled as I fell and I saw him get up and disappear from view.

I couldn't think straight. What was happening?! Bucky will kill him! He doesn't remember!

I built up enough strength and shifted into a hawk in time to slow down a bit before I hit water. My vision went and it felt like I hit brick.

Seconds later I managed to open my eyes and I realized I was underwater. I quickly swam to the surface and I coughed and coughed. Trying to keep afloat I could see the carrier crash right into the Triskelion.

"Dad!" I yelled out. I felt my breath get cut off slightly when I felt the pain searing through my side.

Oh no.

I tried to breathe in but the water pressure on my rib was making it burn and ache so much. I coughed several times before I started swimming towards shore. It was at least 50 yards away.

"C'mon Kate" I grumbled to myself; biting my lip as I breathed in and out through my nose. I couldn't even feel my side anymore. It was numb. "Just breathe" I gritted my teeth. Please let me get to shore. Please let me get to shore.

As I focused on the drawing in and the let out of my breath I realized my vision was blurring.

~0~

I opened my eyes to hear the sound of small waves. I looked around slightly and let out a grunt of pain as I sat up; holding my side. I know I made it to shore. But by the time I got there the pain knocked me out.

I looked around and noticed the Helicarrier was gone. Like- gone gone. It crashed into the Potomac.

My eyes widened before I got to my feet.

Oh no. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.

"Dad!" I yelled; cupping my mouth with my hands. I limped down the shore; looking for any sign of life. "Please" I whispered to myself. "C'mon give me something here" I added with a tired huff. I can't shift at this point. I need to heel a bit and that could take weeks. So I'm stuck on the wrong side of the river at the moment.

I quickly put a finger to the com link; hearing a buzz. So there all off line; meaning Dad had to of gotten off the carrier and to safety.

I felt a surge of hope surge through me as I limped down farther down. I clenched my jaw; holding my side. Ow, ow, ow oh my god this hurts.

"Dad!" I yelled; this time a bit quieter. I couldn't get in a big enough breath to yell. I let out a breath before sucking in another.

~0~

It had gotten darker; it was about 4pm so the sun wasn't setting but it wasn't very bright out like it should be; clouds were rolling in blocking out the sun. And it was only a few minutes later!

I clutched my side tightly as I limped down the shore; the remains of the Triskelion on the other bank opposite of me about a mile down the river.

I rounded the corner and my eyes trailed up and I stopped.

I felt my stomach knot and my breath got caught.

Dad was lying on the shore. He wasn't moving. I looked beyond him and saw someone walking away. Bucky. Seconds later he disappeared into the forest.

I took a few steps closer and kept my eyes down on Dad.

Once I got within 10 feet I found myself putting a hand over my mouth. He looked horrible. His face was covered in gashes and bruises. I'm gonna be sick. I slowly got down til I was on my knees and I crawled over to him.

"D-Dad?" I spoke up. I think he was unconscious. I shook him slightly before feeling my throat tighten. "Dad-" I shook him again; feeling a tear fall down my cheek. He was barely breathing.

I realized my eyes were slowly looking down to his stomach where he was shot. I felt my lips part slightly as I saw the blood seeping into the sand and mud below him; turning the water a scarlet red.

I felt my breath quicken before I looked back at him; my eyes watering.

"Dad, wake up" I spoke louder; shaking him again. He had a faint but steady breathing.

I looked around and realized we were isolated. No one could see us from shore only if someone came intentionally looking.

He looked stable and should start healing quickly so maybe he's ok.

I sniffled before nodding to myself.

"You're ok" I told myself. "You're ok" I whispered. I couldn't stop from tearing up though. Before I could start crying I rested my head on his chest; feeling the rise and fall as he was faintly breathing.

~0~

I focused on the rise and fall of his chest as I waited. It had gotten a tad bit darker in the last few minutes; someone should find us soon... I hope.

I closed my eyes again when I suddenly felt him take in a small breath, let it out, and then nothing. I opened my eyes and stared straight ahead. I lifted my head quickly and looked at him.

"Dad?" I asked; shaking him. Nothing. I quickly put my head against his chest and listened. Dead silent. I couldn't hear any beating. "Dad" I spoke up seriously. "Seriously, stop fooling around- wake up!" I yelled; shaking him.

I started losing control of my breathing as I started panicking.

"Dad that's not funny!" I yelled; shaking him before standing up and walking to the other side of him; pulling him a little ways before I slipped and fell.

I quickly crawled back over to him.

"Daddy please!" I couldn't hold back anymore tears. As I started crying my head shot up and I started looking around. "Ple-ease" I sobbed. "Somebody! Help me!" I yelled between sobs. I got back up before looking around for any sign of boats, helicopters, planes, anything. "Help!" I yelled; cupping my mouth. My side hurt so badly from yelling but I made myself yell as loud as possible. I turned back to dad and tried to pull him again.

"You promised, damn it!" I yelled; feeling myself getting weaker. After about a minute of trying to drag him down the shore line I finally let myself collapse to the ground. "You promised me" I whispered as I cried. I'm losing him just like I lost my parents. I can't be without him I already lost so many people I cared about... I'm not losing him too.

"Please" I cried. "Help!" I yelled out towards the water; my voice barely put together the word as I cried.

"I can't lose you too! - I can't lose you too!" I couldn't control the tears pouring down my face as I finally let my head fall back on his chest.

~0~

"We found them!"

"Get medical down here stat!"

I suddenly felt someone pulling me to my feet. My eyes slowly opened when I heard muffled voices too. It was blurry. I looked around seeing people running at us. And I felt myself moving.

"Da-..." I mumbled. "D-Dad?" I looked around slightly and realized it wasn't him. "Dad!"

I immediately opened my eyes and suddenly felt panic taking over. I looked around me seeing someone dragging me; dressed in combat uniform.

I quickly curved my foot around there's and tripped them before punching them in the face and knocking him to the ground unconscious. I quickly looked around.

"Dad?!" I yelled; looking around.

"Kate!" I turned at the familiar voice and saw Natasha run over with Sam. Natasha ran up to me. "You ok?" She asked; gripping my shoulders.

"Where's dad?!" I asked; tears already escaping my eyes.

"Don't worry about him ok?" She tells me. "Are you hurt?" She asked. I shake my head; looking around me when I saw a stretcher disappear into a helicopter. I immediately broke into a run. "Kate wait-!"

I ran towards it when someone grabbed me and stopped me.

"Let go!" I yelled.

"Kate, calm down he's gonna be fine" Sam told me. I finally stopped struggling and he let go of me before the helicopter took off.

"B-but he stopped breathing" I stutter out; looking at them.

"We got him breathing again Kate" Natasha says. "He's fine" She gives me a small reassuring smile. I quickly looked back at the copter flying away. "You need a doctor too" Natasha reminds me. "Let's go, we'll meet your dad there" She says. I was still breathing in raspy breaths; about to start crying again. "You're ok Kate, you did good" Natasha smiles and puts an arm around me as we started for the helicopter. "It's over" She told me. I couldn't think straight. "It's over"

**Please review :) Sorry if that was too sad for you all :| Believe me I had to write and rewrite the sad scenes at least a dozen times trying to get it right, so I was all sorts of a crybaby XD Yeah, so… yep. Please review what you thought :) Next chapter will be happier. I swear! XD **


	74. (sequel) Chapter 12

Chapter 74

**Hey everyone! :) Sorry about the depression and upsetting chapter XD Hope you like this one!**

**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMNT!**

**So I posted a one shot called "A place to call home: one-shot" check it out! It's between the first one and the sequel but I know a few of you have already found it :) Anyway, enjoy the chapter :D**

I've never been that scared in my entire life. I can't imagine the pain and horror I would be feeling if dad had died. If I think of it how I originally would and still called him Steve it would feel different. I'm realizing how much I needed him and everyone else. I can't put into words what I'm feeling right now. I know I'm doing a horrible job at it...

He is my dad. There's no denying now; that's all I really think of him as.

I already lost my biological family... There's no way I would survive losing this family too.

I was sitting beside Dad's bed right now. I had a sprained ankle; so it was in a boot. I also had a concussion, what were actually three cracked ribs, and the shot that grazed my arm. I was a wreck... Thing is, I can't imagine the pain he's feeling right now though.

"Kate, have you eaten anything?" I heard Sam walk in the room. I didn't say or do anything for a few seconds. I hadn't eaten anything since I got here. The last meal I had was when at Sam's house actually. I was hungry but I didn't care, I wanted to stay here.

I finally shook my head instead of lying. He walked over and I glanced at him; seeing him hand me a small plate with a sandwich on it.

"Thanks" I say quietly before taking it. He nods before walking back over to the other side of Dad's bed; sitting down. I was on the right side.

I looked over at the small counter as I placed the plate down when I saw Dad's phone sitting on the counter off to the left slightly. I glanced over at Dad briefly and couldn't help but crack a small smile before I picked up the phone; going to ITunes.

"Hey Sam, what was that song you were telling Dad about?" I asked. He looked up from his book.

"What, you mean the Marvin Gaye Trouble Man soundtrack?" He asked in confusion. I nod as I was typing it in. I didn't bother with the price, it was only $9.99

I waited for it to download before getting the song ready as I put it on the charger port thing. Don't feel like making sure I have the proper pronunciation so we'll call it the charger port thing.

A few seconds later I went back into the music app and looked for the song. I made Dad get all these songs on his phone that I thought he might like… Or I usually would just not ask him and put it on myself... Yeah.

"What'er you doing?" He asked a few seconds later.

"I dunno, just figured he might like this" I reply. I smile to myself as I was on the phone.

So Natasha told me when I was in the coma; or when I was still unconscious I can't remember exactly; that Dad played some of my favorite songs on my phone. Yeah yeah I know he's not in a coma, but what the hell it's not doing any harm.

I pushed play and say back for a moment as the trouble man song started playing. I closed my eyes to ease my headache but I couldn't fall asleep.

~0~

I was getting lost in the lyrics of the song when I opened my eyes slowly to see someone standing by dad's bed. I opened my eyes more before seeing it was Tony.

He looked over at me before I got out of my chair and hugged him immediately.

"Hey kiddo" He chuckled. I know I don't usually hug him but I missed everyone at the tower to badly. What was he doing here anyway? And he had some cuts on his face too. "How you holdin up?" He asked after I pulled out of the hug.

"Ok" I mumble quietly. He gave a reassuring smile before looking over at Sam.

"Sam right?" Tony asked. He got up from his chair with a nod.

"Tony Stark I'm guessing" He smirked. They shook hands before getting lost in a little conversation about Dad's injuries and condition.

I looked back over at dad before feeling my stomach knot with guilt.

Please wake up.

"You guys coming back to the Tower?" Tony turned to me. I shrugged.

"Hopefully" I reply. I really hope we do. I recently got a text from Darcy. She said as I quote: "some major shit just went down in London with Thor." After the explanation from Jane she told me that some creepy elf guy tried to take over the world. Loki died and Darcy kissed her intern... I know it's not the best explanation but that's all I was told.

I had heard from Pepper too. She said an old colleague tried to kill her and Tony and a lot went down in California and Tennessee. Seems like we're not the only ones that had a crazy time the last few months.

"You're welcome by the way, Sam" I overheard Tony as he turned. Sam raised an eyebrow. "Something tells me you'd make a nice addition to the team" He adds. I smile. That would be awesome if Sam could live at the Tower with us.

"I'll think about it" Sam chuckled. Tony nodded before turning back.

"Guess I'll get going" He says. I hug him again before he had a few more words with Sam before leaving. I sat back down and so did Sam.

I then furrowed my eyebrows; looking down at the side of Dad's bed. His shield was leaning against it. I smiled to myself before squinting to read the note.

_'At least this time it was only the shield we had to fish out of water' -T.S._

I smiled to myself before closing my eyes again. I was finally dosing off; letting myself relax. I haven't slept at all since we got Dad to the hospital. Almost every time I dosed off memories started flashing through my mind.

I opened my eyes again and stared straight ahead. I saw Sam flip a page in his book before I made myself close my eyes and start to relax; letting the trouble man song echo in my ears as it was quietly playing; calming me down a bit.

"...On your left"

My eyes flew back open at the sound of his voice before I looked over. He was looking at Sam before looking over at me. I was out of my chair and wrapping my arms around him before I even drew in another breath. He wrapped his spare arm around me before I felt my eyes start to water. His hug was still surprisingly strong and it made my cracked ribs burn like hell but I seriously didn't give a crap right now.

I buried my face in his shoulder to keep myself from bursting into tears. I was shaking I was so emotional.

"I'm sorry" Was the first thing he mumbled. I sniffled in a breath, it was more of a hint that I was about to burst into tears as I took in a shaky breath. "I'm sorry" He repeated. I nodded; still hugging him.

"At least you kept your promise" I breathed; my voice brittle. I felt his grip tighten as he was hugging me and I hugged him tighter too. Christ, I wanna cry. I really want to cry right now.

"Are you ok?" He asked; his grip loosening before his arm slid away from by back and I pulled away before slowly sitting down in my char.

"That's the stupidest question I've ever heard you say" I say; contradicting the statement as I sounded like I was about to cry, and I kept a straight face. He smiled and I found myself relax a bit. He looks so happy now. Damn it's like nothing in the last week happened with that smile he just showed.

"How you feeling?" Sam asked. I looked over at him and so did Dad.

"Fine" He sums up. I narrowed my eyes at him slightly. Like hell you do!

I felt my phone buzz and I pulled it out of my pocket before looking at the screen.

Natasha: meet me in the hall

I looked over at Dad and realized he was looking at me.

"Who's that?" He asked; sounding chirper and happy. Damn it I know he's hiding the pain for me right now. I can see it in his eyes; he's in a lot of pain. We already discovered how fast he burns through the meds that numb the pain. The doctors didn't really know what to do after that; so they just doubled the pain medications.

"Natasha" I mumble; then look over as the door opened.

"Finally awake Rogers" She smirks. "Did it cross your mind that you missed another 70 years when you woke up?" She laughed. I saw the blood drain from his face for a second when she said that before he quickly smiled.

"Nah, didn't come to mind actually"

"You're a terrible liar" I mumbled at the same time Natasha said it. We both glanced at each other with a smirk.

"Kate I need to borrow you for a minute" She says. I looked over at her and then at the ground, glancing at Dad briefly.

"Go on Kate" He smirked. I looked over at him and saw him smirking slightly. I finally nod before getting up and hesitantly following Natasha out.

...

Sam's eyebrows shot up when Kate got up and left the room with Natasha. Steve looked over at him.

"What?" He mumbled.

"That girl- has not left your side since we got here... And you just got her out of the room with 3 freakin words." He states. Steve laughs a bit before clearing his throat from the pain.

"Seriously, I've tried everything. But she was adamant to stay with you" He laughed. Steve rolled his eyes before closing them.

"How long have I been out?" He asked; opening his eyes again.

"3 days" He says. "Not bad for a guy brought back to life" He adds. Steve immediately looked over at him.

"Wait what?" He spoke up a bit louder.

"Hm?" Sam looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean brought back-?"

"Steve your heart stopped" He states in a serious tone. He looked at him for a moment with his mouth open like he wanted to speak but nothing came out. He looked away for a moment before looking back over.

"When, was it here?" He asked. "Kate wasn't there was she?" He asked. Sam clenched his jaw for a moment.

"When we found you on the beach Kate was with you," He says. "Your heart had already stopped and you were dead when we found you but we managed to get you going again" He says. "Kate knew; she was there" He says. Steve closed his eyes as he said that. "She said she tried to help but she didn't know what to do" He adds in a quieter voice.

"God" He breathed before putting a hand over his face, then put it through his hair. "On a beach?" He asked. Something changed in his expression.

"Kate told us she found you on the shore of the river" He says. Steve looked down. "She said Barnes saved you" He adds.

Steve looks over at him and a grimmer of hope could be seen in his eyes.

"She saw him?" He asked. He nodded.

"It was shortly after that she said your heart stopped before we ended up finding you about an hour later" Sam explains. Steve finally nods before letting his head rest on the pillow behind him.

...

"Is that all?" I asked. Natasha nodded.

"We don't know Coulson's whereabouts at the moment" She says. Natasha was telling me which agents were still good and on our side... Not many were still alive and accounted for. And I didn't really know any of them. Thankfully Caleb was overseas at the moment and had not devoted anything to SHIELD just yet. So he's in the clear. "Don't worry, we'll keep looking" She smiles. I nod and sigh before giving a smile.

~0~

A couple hours later it was night and I was sitting back in Dad's room. He was asleep. Sam had gotten up to go talk to the doctors; I was in here alone.

I looked over at Dad for a few seconds; giving a small smile to myself. I could see him breathing normally and he already looked a bit better.

He was back. Like- really back. I seriously thought he died back there, you have no idea what that felt like. Losing everything you ever cared about, then getting something even better and almost losing that too.

I am making a promise to myself- and I won't let that happen again.

~0~

A few days later they finally let Dad out of the hospital. I'll admit I didn't leave his room at all. I did when he did and that was pretty much it. I had a gun on me 24/7 although they posted guards outside Dad's door. I still wanted to be prepared for anything. And I do mean everything.

He could walk with a limp but his arm was in a sling for now. I can see him hiding the pain. He doesn't want to show it at all I know that. Trying to stay strong about injuries is one of the many things I've learned from him. But the thing he pesters me about my injuries, then hides it when he has them. It's like he doesn't want me worrying about him yet he gets to worry about me. Hypocrite.

We walked up the stairs to the apartment and stopped when we reached the door. He had his shield in his spare hand while the other was in the sling.

There was police tape over the door.

I saw him glance at me before he went to pull the key from his pocket. He frowned. "Hold that" He deadpanned. I cracked a small smile before taking the shield as he got the key from his pocket and opened the door; ripping the tape as he went. I handed him back his shield.

I went to walk in when he stopped me.

"Hold it, I'm going first" He makes clear. I slowly turn my gaze on him before laughing.

"Yeah, real funny dad. Protect me while you have a shot to the thigh, arm, and stomach" I reply flatly. He gives me a look for a moment. I finally pull my gun from the back of my jeans. "There" He furrowed his eyebrows at first; probably at when I got the gun and how I got it in and out of Hospital security. I don't wait for a responds before walking in. He huffs before following.

I let out a sigh as we walked in and I realized it was a mess. Blood still stained the floor and the window was still smashed; glass and broken furniture was everywhere.

"Kate you know we're going to have to move right?" He says. I nod.

"Yep" I pop the p before leaning against the wall. "Where are we gonna go?" I asked.

"For the next few days we'll rent a hotel room" He says. "Try and stay off record for a while" He says. I nod in reply.

"Should I pack some stuff?" I asked. He looks over at me and nods. I then walk for my room.

"Only what you need, we can't afford to bring everything" He calls as I walked out.

"K" I call as I walked in my room. Making sure the gun in my hand was ready to go if someone was waiting here for us.

~0~

Over the next hour I packed a few things into my duffle bag know I couldn't leave behind. Including some pictures, my photo album that Pepper gave me, my skate board, my sketch book, and of course some clothes and tooth brush/tooth paste stuff. Oh- and all my weapons hidden around my room too, those are so coming. My cross necklace was around my neck- always. It's one of the specials that I where all the time day and night. Especially when I went on missions, it was my good luck charm.

I grabbed my bag and through it over my shoulder before looking around my room. I felt my eyes tear up a bit as I looked around. Seems every time I get used to something we end up leaving it for something else.

I finally walked out of the room and into the living room; seeing Dad looking out the window; pulling the blinds down a bit to see outside.

"Ready?" He asked; turning to me. I nod. He gives a nod before pulling a bag over his shoulder and then grabbed his shield.

I walked over to the door; following him as he walked out. I stopped at the doorway and looked inside at our old apartment. I clenched my jaw; feeling my eyes tear up. Knowing I'd never see this place again upset me.

"Kate" I heard Dad from behind me. I gave the room one last look before I walked out, leaving it behind.

**Hope you liked the chapter :) Please review if you liked it and want to see more! (Of course you'll see more XD) **


	75. (sequel) Chapter 13

Chapter 75

**I am so sorry for the long wait everyone! There were some family issues that I was having trouble with, so I was a little preoccupied. **

**But otherwise a big announcement is in order today…..**

**A Place to Call Home turned 1 Year Old yesterday! :D I published this story on October 1 2014 and yesterday was the 1****st**** of October this year :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY story of mine XD**

**Ok, I hope you like this chapter. It's a bit short, hope that's ok. But I have a little surprise coming up involving a crossover with a certain Marvel hero…. :) You can guess in the reviews if you want but you'll have to wait and see who it shall be! Although, this person is in the MCU they haven't really been in contact with the Avengers so it's sort of a cross over and the timelines may not add up.**

**ANOTHER BIG ANNOUCEMENT!**

**So now that you know there will be a crossover you also know that this may not be following the MCU exactly. Now I think about it every day and I'm still not sure what I will do about this… But I don't know if this story will make it through Captain America Civil War. I know many of you will be sad if I don't continue it through Civil War, but I think it's pretty obvious why I'm being cautious about this….. Wow I'm getting depressed as I type this. I sure as hell hope they don't kill anyone off. Especially Steve…. That would suck for Kate. But they won't since he'll be in Infinity War. And there are rumors about the ending to Civil War; I won't say anything but I'm afraid that the story will be too hard for Kate to handle with what happens in Civil War after what happened when SHIELD fell. If I do write it, it will probably be much different. **

**I don't know how it will turn out in Civil War so until I see the movie you will have lots more of A Place to Call Home; it's nowhere near over yet! Don't worry!**

**Meaning…. **_**A Place to Call Home will continue through AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON!**_** :) I know some of you wanted that and it might be a bit different when I write it, I hope that's ok :) **

**I know, I'll shut up now. Enjoy!**

I was lying on the hotel bed staring at the ceiling. Tony got us this nice hotel room for a while. We'll be here for a week or so; wait for everything to cool down a bit before hopefully moving back to the Tower.

There were three rooms. Two small bedrooms and a main area containing a Kitchenette/living room with a small couch and TV.

There was a quiet knock on my door and I looked over to see Dad peeking his head in.

"You ok?" He asked quietly. I hesitate to say anything; turning my gaze back to the ceiling.

"I dunno" I mumble. "Fine I guess" I keep my eyes up. He pushed the door open and walked over before sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Anything else bothering you?" Hm, let's think. How bout you almost got killed by your best friend, several of my good friends are traitors, or they're dead. My whole life pretty much just hit the reset; everything I gave my life to- SHIELD, everything. It was all a lie. Anything else I forgot?

"No" I tell him giving a small smile before keeping my eyes away from where he was. "Just thinking" I add before breathing out. He nods after a few seconds.

"You going to bed soon?" He asked. I nod; sitting up. "Teeth brushed?" He smirked. I smile and nod.

"Yep" I laugh.

"Alright, I'm gonna go get ready" He says before getting up.

"Night" I end up yawning. He leans over and kisses the top of my head and I side hug him.

"Don't stay up too late" He smiles.

"I won't" I reply before he walked out of my room; cracking the door a tad behind him as he left.

I let myself fall back on my bed and I huffed.

I hope I can sleep. I honestly haven't gotten a goodnight sleep or a full night of sleep in over a week.

I take a deep breath before pushing myself up to go get changed.

~0~

_All I could hear was breathing. It was dark; silent. Nothing was happening. _

_And then everything was happening. _

_Explosions started to go off everywhere and I found myself standing inside the Triskelion. I looked around me before looking up through the window; seeing the last Helicarrier flying towards the building. _

_My eyes widened and I started backing up when I heard an ear popping snap and it crashed into the building. I let out a surprised cry and broke into a run for the opposite end. _

_I could feel the floor being torn up from nude my feet and the building was crumble around me. _

_My breathing echoed in my ears I I ran and I saw a door at the end of the wall. I ran towards it and could feel the crashing building gaining behind me. As I looked back I gasped before turning back and suddenly the door had disappeared. It was just a plan wall. I came to a dead stop and looked around frantically but it was nothing but a wall. _

_I turned around; seeing the Helicarrier barreling towards me along with the building falling apart. I let out a cry as it crashed into me; burying me in cement and metal. _

...

I shot out of bed with a small yell as I shakily hugged myself to make sure I wasn't being crushed. My eyes shot around the room and realized I was in my bed at the hotel... I was safe.

Taking a shaky breath I looked around again before checking to make sure my gun was under my pillow. Check.

I swallow. Still breathing heavy. That was freaky, oh my god. I seriously thought it was real for a moment. My eyes darted around the room again and I let out a breath.

"Calm down, Jesus" I mumble to myself before rolling my eyes. But to be honest that only sent a chill down my spine. Knowing that Hydra is still out there and planning their next move to kill us is keeping me on edge a bit.

Taking in a deep breath I finally let myself calm down and crawl back under the covers to try and get some more sleep. I only found myself staring at the wall for another hour before I finally drifted off.

~0~

I woke up the next morning and felt horrible. My head was pounding as I sat up and groaned a bit. My hand went to my head and I made a face. Damn, being beat up really sucks.

A couple minutes went by and I got off the bed and into the main area of the out hotel room. I furrowed my eyebrows when I saw a note on the counter. I quickly walked over and picked it up.

_Ran to the store, I'll be back in a couple hours._

_Love you, Dad_

I smiled a bit before feeling myself get uneasy. Did he bring any weapons with him? I ran into his room and saw his shield sitting by the bed and I went to his dresser; opening the draw seeing his 'in case of absolute emergence' handgun.

Damn it, he didn't bring any. I ran back into my room and quickly changed into some skinny jeans and a black spaghetti strap tank too; throwing an army green jacket over it before I laced up my combat boots. Putting my handgun in the back rim of my jeans I quickly ran for the door before I got out; locking it behind me.

~0~

I got out of the building and ran around a few bushes before getting low; shifting into a German shepherd before I ran down the sidewalk.

I'm freaking out right now. He could have written that note hours ago for all I know. He could get caught up with anyone, "SHIELD" for instance-... What if he encountered Hydra?!

I burst into a sprint and made it across the street almost nicking the front of a taxi that honked at me before I kept going.

I ran across a different street and down the sidewalk for several minutes. I came around the bend and saw the market we usually went to and felt myself calm down a bit when I saw his motorcycle parked.

I suddenly came to a half when a white van stopped in front of me. I immediately growled and my ears were pinned back on my head. A man got out of the car and I growled before barking.

Dog catcher? Really?!

"Another one" He mumbled; suddenly using one of those stick things and got it around my neck. I barked at him and growled before biting on the stick with the loop around my neck. "C'mon dog" He muttered and pulled back towards the back of the van. My ears shot back up when I saw Dad walk out the door of the market across the street.

I barked several times more high pitched. He looked around before I saw him pulling he keys from his leather jacket pocket. He took the sling off his arm. He put it on for a few hours each day now because it only bothered him a little.

I finally howled and he did look around before looking at me; furrowing his eyebrows. I barked again before the dog catcher dragged me into the van and into a cage

Shit! This is so not good! Crap I'm in a bad situation here!

I howled and barked again as he closed the door and I peeked out the window of the van; seeing Dad still looked confused as he looked at the ground; deep in thought.

Dad! It's me for cryin out loud!

I barked again and then the truck pulled out and took off down the street.

~0~

About 30 minutes later Steve opened the door of the hotel room and walked in before closing it behind him. Looking around, he set the two bags on the counter.

"Kate?" He looked around a bit; she wasn't in the living area. He furrowed his eyebrows briefly before walking into her room. "Honey, you in here?" He called. She wasn't in her room. Panic started to take over as he checked his room; seeing his draw was open a bit. After checking to make sure the gun was there he went back into Kate's room; discovering that her gun was gone.

He quickly walked back into the living room area and pulled out his phone; dialing her number. He froze when he heard a buzzing and his eyes slowly trailed to the right as he saw her phone sitting on the coffee table.

"Damn it" He muttered before going back for the door when he stopped. He froze where he stood and his eyes got lost on the door for a good minute. The realization hit him like a truck. "Oh god" He stated; looking over. "Not good" He quickly added before his head shot over to the counter and he grabbed the collar and leash they used when Kate had to go on runs with him sometimes. They only used it when it was absolutely necessary.

~0~

I let out a moan like growl as I was sitting in a cage at Animal Control.

This. Sucks.

This has never happened before. But if I shifted back they would know I was The Shifter. Now that SHIELD's gone everything about me has been leaked onto the Internet. So they know about me and who I am and that my adopted dad is Steve freaking Rogers aka Captain America.

Hopefully Dad will figure out I'm gone and that dog barking insanely at him early was me...

The door suddenly opened and my head shot up and I whined with excitement at who I saw. There was about 20ft of cages before the doors and I was halfway between each door. Dad walked in with the same guy that took me here. I whined again and pawed at my cage door over and over before letting out a squeaky bark. I saw dad lean out and look down the line before he saw me and started walking over.

"There you are" Dad grumbled; getting over before kneeling down. He was wearing something different. He had those dork nerdy glasses on; the ones her wore back when we were undercover at the Mall. And he had a cap on along with a different zip up sweat shirt. Guess he wasn't taking and chances.

"This her?" The man asked; getting his key out. He nodded.

"Yep this is her" He smirked before looking at me. I whined again and pawed at the door before the man finally opened it and I crawled out; my tail wagging wildly as I looked up at Dad excitedly.

Hey, gotta act dog-like so these people buy it.

He kneeled down and put the collar on me before attaching the leash. Geash this thing is itchy. How do dogs stand it?

We walked back out into the office area. And Dad signed some stuff at the counter.

"Good luck, I'll let you know that one's quite stubborn" The man smirked.

"You're right about that. She's definitely a handful" Dad smirked as we walked out the door. I let out another moan like growl.

Oh ha-ha dad, very funny.

We got out the door and walked for a while before we stopped besides a building and he kneeled down. He took the collar off and I shook myself off. Those things are so itchy. I sneezed and licked my lips before looking up at him. He raised an eyebrow and I looked down before shifting back into my normal self.

I gave him an innocent smile.

"Hi" I say quickly.

"Hi" He says flatly before smirking. "Why did I just bail you out of Animal Control" He asked. I scratched the back of my head before looking around.

"I was gonna come with you and wanted to catch up..."

"So you took the easy way out" He ends. I nod.

"Didn't think they still- did that stuff around here" I scrunch my nose in question. He looked amuse.

"Uh huh. You couldn't just wait til I got back?" I hesitate.

It freaks me out a bit when he's not home. Every possible scenario of something bad happening starts to run through my head.

"I dunno" I mumble with a shrug before we started walking down the sidewalk. He finally gives a slow nod. I stared down for a bit as my hands were dug into my pockets.

"Alright, well... Be a bit more careful next time, ok?" He laughs before wrapping an arm around me as we walked.

"Whatever you say" I smile cheekily.

**Hope you liked it :) I wanted something a bit funny and there will be more of the recovering and how the fall of SHIELD is affecting them. Sam will be in the next chapter too, don't worry XD Please review!**


	76. (sequel) Chapter 14

Chapter 76

**Hey everyone! Sorry I know I'm really lagging behind I will try really hard to get you your chapters. Please enjoy this one :) **

It had been about an hour and we were just kinda walking around, since we didn't have anything to do today.

I was just looking down when a thought popped into my head.

"We never got our subway sandwiches" I mutter to myself as we were walking down the sidewalk. I could see Dad glance at me out of the corner of my eye.

"What?"

"Remember? Before SH-... everything happened you agreed that we could go get Subway" I remind him; crossing my arms. He nods before looking across the street as we were about to cross.

"Alright" He says. "But you actually want to eat that this early in the morning?" I nod as I looked over at him.

"Who wouldn't?" I ask in confusion. Subway is amazing!

He smirks and scratches the back of his head before nodding.

"Ok, let's go" He seemed confused but still amused so I just smiled as we turned down a different path and continued down the sidewalk.

About five minutes later we got to the subway and I ordered my usual damn good sandwich before we both sat down at a table.

I immediately unwrapped my sandwich and took a bite.

"Oh god- I missed that" I mumble to myself. I tried my best to ignore Dad looking around. He seemed a bit anxious. "What did you get?" I asked to try and snap him out of it. He looked at me before looking down.

"Uh, I don't know" He deadpans. I laughed before taking another bite of my sandwich. "It tastes good, that's all I know" He smiles.

"Look who it is" I jerked my head around with a serious face before they grew with excitement.

"Sam!" I blurted out when I saw him walk over. Dad smirked- probably at my enthusiasm.

"Hey Kate" He smirked before sitting down at the chair to my right and to Dad's left. He unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite.

"Did you find anything?" Dad asked him. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"I did, there were only a few files but it's something" Sam says to him. It was if they were trying to talk quiet enough to the point where I couldn't hear them.

"What'd you find?" I asked; looking at Sam.

"More leads on Bar-"

"Hydra" Dad cuts him off with a smile. I looked at him with a confused face before glancing at Sam as his eyes darted over to Dad before he nodded.

"Yeah" He said before biting his sandwich. My eyes shot between them for several seconds.

"What'd you find?" I ask. Dad cleared his throat and looked at Sam. Sam immediately looked at Dad and huffed when he saw hi looking at him like he could answer this one.

"Just some leads on individuals that have SHIELD information" He says to me. I nod slowly.

"I'm gonna go get chips" I say before getting up. Dad held out a 5 and I took it before walking towards the chip rack.

…

"I thought you told her" Sam mumbled to him as soon as she walked away.

'Tell her what? That I'm looking for the guy that almost killed me?" He replied flatly; looking over to make sure Kate was out of hearing range.

"Don't you think she'd understand if you told her the truth sooner rather than later?" He asked him. Steve immediately shook his head.

"It's been a rough last few weeks, she doesn't need that on her mind" He says.

"So what happens when we actually find Barnes? What'er you gonna tell her?" He asked. Steve was quiet for a moment.

"The truth" He responds.

…

I walked back over with a bag of Doritos and sat down.

"Fine if I drop the files off tomorrow morning?" Sam asked Dad. He nodded.

"Sure, we'll be there so come whenever" He says. Sam nodded before looking down at his phone.

'Alright I gotta go, I'll see you guys tomorrow then" Sam said; looking up at us.

"See ya" I give a big smile.

"Bye Kate" He smirks before giving Dad a nod. I saw Dad nod out of the corner of my eye before he walked out the door.

"Do we know any of the HYDRA people?" I asked. He looked at me and then down. I waited for a response before he shook his head.

"No" He says; looking up at me. I nod before he looked back down at his sandwich. I narrowed my eyes a bit. I can tell when he's lying… and something tells me he is right now.

~0~

A few hours later we were back at the hotel room. I was lying across the couch reading on my phone. Fanfiction is the best; I'm reading a star wars fan fic at the moment. By the way.

"Hungry?" Dad called over. I glanced at him under my phone; he was in the kitchen. Shaking my head I looked back at my phone.

"It's left overs" He adds.

"Is there any mac and cheese left?" I asked. I heard the fridge door open and then close.

"Yep, there's some"

"Well in that case, i'll have some of that please" I smile under my phone. He nods before putting it in the microwave.

The TV was on and it was America's Funniest Home Videos. I love this show; Dad isn't a big fan of it- or so he says. I know deep down he thinks it's hilarious but he doesn't want to laugh at people's failures on Television. Now _that _I find hilarious.

He came over later and put the bowl on the coffee table to my left; since I was lying across the whole couch.

"Thanks" I spoke up; my eyes still glued to my phone. I heard him let out a breath seconds later but ignored it somewhat.

"Can I sit or are you not moving?" He asked flatly but I could still here the amusement in his voice.

"Eh" I mumbled.

"Ok, sit up" He mumbled. I sat up a bit and he moved the pillow before sitting down. I let myself fall back onto the pillow that was now in his lap. "You need to eat something" He says before taking my phone from my hands and putting the bowl in its place. I looked up- somewhat upside down at him with a frown.

"I was almost done the chapter" I argue.

"Eat and you can finish it that much sooner" He says before picking up the remote and turning the volume up. I rolled my eyes before taking a bit of mac and cheese; looking at the screen.

~0~

**Later that night….**

I shot out of bed as I took in a sharp breath. My eyes darted around the room and I was already grabbing my gun; pointing it at what I thought was a person; quickly realizing it was the blanket hanging on the closet knob.

I let out a shaky breath before taking in an equally shaky one again; slowly lowering my gun when my head shot to the door when I heard something.

I quickly fumbled my way out of bed and over to my door; slowly opening it. My gun still in hand I walked down the little hall and the living room and peeked out. I slowly lowered my gun before furrowing my eyebrows a bit.

By the looks of it; Dad fell asleep on the couch with the TV going. He was leaning on his left fist; the remote still in his right hand.

I dropped the gun all the way and leaned against the hall wall for a moment.

God, I thought someone broke in for a second.

I quickly walked in and over to the kitchen; placing my gun on the counter as I went. I quietly opened the fridge and grabbed the pitcher before pouring a glass of water. Once the pitcher was away I took a small sip of my water.

"What're you doing up?" I jumped a bit and turned to see Dad looking very much awake now and looking at me curiously.

"Sorry, grabbing- uh," I lost my train of thought for a moment and my eyes shot down to the water I was holding. "Water, just- getting some water" I add; slowly sliding my gun off the counter and behind me. There were two counters; a higher one with two stools and the lower one right behind it in the kitchen area part of the whole room. I was standing in front of it.

"You ok?" He asked. He seemed really calm about it; part of that might be because he's half asleep. I can see he's still trying to shake that off.

"Mm Hm" I mumble; my voice still shaky but I tried to stay reassuring.

He was about to say something else but stopped himself before letting out a breath. He patted the spot next to him and gestured for me to come over. I slowly put my water down on the counter; my gun still in my right hand behind me. I slowly walk over before sitting down next to him on his right.

It was quiet for about a minute as I stared at the TV; it was black and white and looked like a war movie or something.

"Nightmare?" He finally asked. I sniffed in a breath before nodding.

"Yeah" I mumble; still slowly sliding the gun behind me so he couldn't see it. He'll flip shit if he knows I walk around with a gun because I'm so scared when I wake up from these.

It was quiet again for a bit.

"Me too" He lets out a breath; saying it casually but also quietly. I furrowed my eyebrows before blinking.

"Didn't know you had them" I mumble.

"All the time" He seemed to chuckle. I thought for a moment about it.

What would he have nightmares about? I know there are so many things now, but I still wondered what it was specifically.

"...What about?" I asked. He hesitated before looking down at me.

"If I tell you will you tell me what yours was about?" He asked. I hesitate to say and thing as he shifted and sat up slightly. "And," He reached across from me. "Why you have this on you?" He asked as he pulled my gun out from behind me; a hint of amusement in his voice.

I couldn't close my mouth for a moment as my eyes were glued to the gun before I looked at him.

"Ok" I mumble. He smirks before putting the gun on the coffee table. He sat back again. I let out a breath before leaning on his shoulder- which is surprisingly comfortable. I look up at him and wait for a response.

"Bucky" He answers simply; looking down at me. I nod for a moment and my eyes went down. There are many different scenarios that he could be talking about. "I thought I lost him back during the war... But when Hydra got a hold of him- that's when I really lost him" He explains. I felt bad immediately. Damn it, this sucks.

I sat up a bit; hunched over as I stared at the floor; my hands supporting under my chin.

"Sasha" I mumble after. I could see him look at me out of the corner of my eye. The last time I saw her started playing over in my head. I tried to push it away but didn't succeed. "I just- didn't want to believe she was with them" I take a deep breath. "When she confronted me on- that day" I took in a breath. "I didn't really wanna do what I knew I had to..." I add. "She knew she was doing wrong and I killed her for it" I state. "I-..." I let out the breath. "I stabbed her" my voice cracked a bit. "I didn't mean to-" I started to feel myself getting insecure; I finally started to feel my eyes water. "I-I wasn't trying to but-... she had a gun and I-" I bit my lip hard to keep myself from breaking. He started rubbing my back and that pretty much did it. "She said she was sorry" Shit, I'm gonna cry. "I stabbed her, and she said she was sorry... I should've done something- more and I couldn't saved her" I felt tears slip from my eyes as my gaze was lost on the floor.

I freaking hate you nightmares. Damn it, I hate crying in front of him because I know he feels bad and it tears him apart and then that makes me feel worse and then I'm an emotional wreck.

I started actually crying-crying; next thing I knew. I felt him gently pull me back over and I turned before hugging him; somewhat hiding my face over his shoulder.

"It's not your fault" He told me. I squeezed my eyes shut and felt several more tears slip.

"I told her that her family didn't give a damn about her" I told him; my voice brittle. He was quiet for a moment. "Who says that?" I barely got my words out.

"Don't beat yourself up about it Kate. You defended yourself, and that's ok" He looks at me. "I know you would never intentionally hurt her." He says; looking down at me. I just barely nod and bit my lip again to keep myself from crying. "She just got caught up with the wrong people, it happens sometimes. You helped her to realize where she really belonged" He says; looking down at me again. "She would still be with Hydra if you hadn't helped her realize SHIELD wasn't the enemy" So…is he saying that it's better that she died one the right side then stayed alive with HYDRA?

I felt more tears slip and I squeezed my eyes shut; trying to keep myself from crying anymore.

"It wasn't your fault, you hear me?" He said. I looked at him but then looked down. "Kate," He was trying to get my attention. I glanced at him briefly. "You know that right?" He asked. I hesitate to do anything. Seconds later I nod slightly. "Good" He adds quieter. I could tell he pitied me and I hated it. Although I couldn't be more stupid right now with how I'm acting.

Maybe you should stuck it up for once; grow up Kate. You don't see Dad cry when his good friend dies.

I'm starting to feel bad. He has enough on his shoulders without my emotional crap to deal with.

I took a deep breath before letting it out; sniffling. I wipe the tears from my cheeks before hugging him again.

Several minutes went by and I realized I had stopped crying and was listening to the TV going. I kept furrowing my eyebrows a bit with the occasional sniffle.

It sounded like he was watching war footage. And I heard his name every now and again so it must be WW2 obviously.

I sniffled in another breath and then putting my head back on his shoulder; in the event of crying my eyes out like a freaking toddler I slumped down a bit; I was laying in the nook of his arm.

"I'm sorry about Sasha Kate; believe me- losing friends... I've been there" He looks down at me; his voice want brittle, but I could tell he was upset. I nod and take in a shaky breath. This freaking sucks. Why am I so emotional? I'm never _this_ bad.

"Sorry about Bucky, Dad" I spoke up. He let out a breath and kissed the top of my head.

"Thanks honey" He whispered before resting his head on mine.

We stayed there for a few minutes and I listened to the TV going again.

"Wanna try and get some sleep?" He asked. I shook my head. No freaking way am I going back to that death trap of nightmares.

"I wanna watch movies" I reply. He smirks.

"What do you wanna watch?" I look at the TV again and smiled a bit.

"Just some old footage" He says before picking up the remote.

"We can still watch it" I look at him.

"No it's fine, I want you to pick something" He says before handing me the remote. I take it before looking at the buttons. I thought for a moment and smiled before going to On Demand and flipping through a few til I went to the search box and started typing.

"What's It's A Wonderful Life?" He asked.

"A good movie" I smile before pushing play. About a minute goes by and the movie starts playing. He immediately looked down at me with a raised eyebrow; obviously amused.

"You're not just picking this because it's from the 40's are you?" He deadpans. I laugh.

"No... Maybe" He ends up laughing. "It's still one of my favorite movies and it's a classic" I argue.

"Ok ok" He puts his hands up in surrender before looking at the screen. I blinked a few times as I was looking at the screen and I felt goosebumps on my arms before looking up at the ceiling fan.

"I want a blanket" I mumble to myself before getting up and running to my room. I got the fuzzy blanket I had before running back and hopping on the couch.

He lifted his arm and I scooted back into the spot I was in and snuggled with the blanket.

"You comfortable?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Yep" I give a smile before resting my head back down. My eyes trailed over to the TV.

I loved this movie. My family and I always watched it every year since I was young. I haven't seen it since before I was taken to the warehouse.

But hey, tradition goes on.

I kept my eyes on the screen but I eventually found them starting to close.

~0~

**The next morning… **

"Kate" I groaned and moved a bit before hugging my blanket closer to me. "Kate" I felt someone shake my shoulder and I groaned again.

"Mm mph" I mumble into the pillow.

"Gotta get up" I could hear the amusement in his voice as I opened one eye to see Dad leaning over the back of the couch looking at me. I closed the eye again and sniffled.

"I don't wanna" I whisper.

"Sam's bringing donuts"

"Sorry?" I open both eyes and lean up a bit. He smiles.

"Yeah, and coffee. All from Dunkin Donuts" He adds.

"Really?" I whisper with excitement. Wow that was childish. He laughs.

"Yeah, really. Meaning if you want some you gotta get up" He says.

"Now?" I ask with a hint of tiredness.

"Yes now Kate" He laughs before kissing my forehead. I huff and fall back down onto the couch pillow.

**Hope you liked the chapter :) Please review if you have requests or ideas :) **


	77. (sequel) Chapter 15

Chapter 77

**Next Chapter peoples! :) Hope you all aren't dead… it's been a little quiet from all you guys… :| Not that you have to review, just saying. XD I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)**

I quickly changed and unplugged my phone that was charging. Dad made sure I got up cause he didn't want me asleep on the couch when Sam got here; it's not polite or something responsible like that. He also told me Sam might pour water on me... That's what got me up to be honest.

I put my phone in my pocket and walked to my door and opened it a bit. I slowly walked down the hall and came to a stop as I saw Dad in the kitchen looking at his phone.

There was a knock at the door as I was about to take a step out into the room and for some reason my hand shot down to my thigh for my gun. Of course Dad managed to catch it and gave me almost a concerned look.

"It's just Sam" He says slowly; then adds a bit of a smirk. I swallow and quickly nod and give a smile. I saw a different look cross his face briefly before it was gone. I tried not to think anything of it for a moment. He turned to unlock it and my hand slowly went to my back where my gun was.

The door opened and I had a firm grip on the handle when I saw Sam step inside.

"Hey everyone" He called. "Donuts for the superheroes" He added before placing two bags on the counter. I let out a breath through my nose and smiled before I released the handle of my gun and put my shirt back down over it.

I walked over and leaned on the counter as Dad grabbed a few small plates and Sam passed out coffee.

"Iced caramel mocha" He said as he slid mine over. Dad called Sam and let him know what I liked apparently. But he didn't tell Sam what he wanted. I just over heard an 'I don't care' or a 'doesn't matter' from him.

"Thank you" I smile and start sipping the amazing drink. Holy shit I haven't had one of those in a while.

"Cap I don't know what you like so I got you regular, plain, boring black coffee" He says flatly.

"That's all he drinks anyway" I laugh. "It's gross" I add; scrunching my nose.

"To you maybe" Dad smirks before placing the plates on the counter. I rolled my eyes before opening a bag and grabbing a chocolate glazed.

"Did you bring the files?" Dad turned his attention on Sam who gave a nod.

"Got em here" He placed the file in front of him and Dad picked it up before opening it. I tried to sweep a quick glance but his eyes shot over to me and saw me trying to look. He let out a breath and scratched the back of his neck before he picked up the file and walked around the counter. I narrowed my eyes just barely before taking a bit of my donut. Smooth Dad. Real smooth.

That was a clear message that it wasn't my business to know what was in that file.

"Soooo..." I drew out. "What kinda leads did you find?" I ask with a smile; pushing a bit further. Sam looked over at me and glanced at Dad. That was a 'can I tell her' glance. I've seen it before and I don't find it comforting. It's usually for something not very good.

"A few Hydra leads" Dad says; not looking up.

"Well duh I know that" I mumble. "Does it say who?" I asked. About 30 seconds went by before he looked up at me. He had a straight face for a moment before he smiled.

"You don't need to worry about it, it's nothing" He says before looking back down. I had a smile and as soon as he looked down it dropped and huffed before taking a sip of my iced caramel mocha.

I caught Sam glancing at me before he looked over at him.

I looked over at the clock and saw the time; 9:13.

"I'm gonna just go back to bed; too early for me" I mumble and scratch my head before walking away. I didn't hear another word from them as I left.

Walking into my room I closed my door behind me before putting my iced caramel mocha on the nightstand. I flopped down in bed and put my ear phones in before playing my music.

My fingers occasionally tapped against my leg to the beat as I stared at the ceiling before I just let my eyes close.

~0~

_My breath clouded in front of me as I looked around. I was on a Helicarrier. My eyebrows furrowed as I looked around and realized this was one of the Insight carriers._

_I swallowed and continued to look around when I eyes landed on a crashed quinjet. I looked farther over and saw a person walking towards me. It was hard to see; almost blurry._

_"Hello?" I called. The figure didn't change pace; just kept walking towards me. I looked around and saw no one else. The figure was holding something in both hands and I could I couldn't make it out. The fire from the crashed jet masked the figure and the object they were holding._

_I shielded my eyes from the light and squinted as I took a few steps forward._

_"Are you ok?" I called a bit quieter as they were getting closer. The figure didn't respond again and I let out a bit of a nervous breath._

_The figure was about 15 feet away now and I felt my eyes widen as they started to come into few. I couldn't move as he was raising the gun at me and the sun right reflected off the metal of his arm._

_I was breathing heavily and I took a small step back as he pulled the trigger._

...

I jumped at the knock on my door and I had my gun in hand; aiming it over. My breath was still quick and I saw Dad peek his head in.

"Sorry, just-..." He stopped briefly and I saw his eyes lock on the gun. "-checking on you" He added quietly. I swallowed before letting out a relieved breath; then nodded before placing my gun next to me. "You ok? You're really shaken up this morning" I looked over at him as he was still in the doorway and looking at me; all I could see was his head and shoulder as he was leaning in. Several looks of concern suddenly washed over his face and I quickly smiled to reassure him.

"Fine" I answer; scratching the back of my head before sitting up a bit.

He hesitated before nodding a bit.

"You sure?" I nod again. He didn't look too convinced but only gave a nod in return; then looked down.

"Did you and Sam find anything?" I asked; in hopes to change the subject. He hesitates before looking up at me.

"No" He says after a few seconds. "No good leads" He seemed a bit tired and disappointed. I just nod before looking back down at the bed.

"You up for a run?" He asked. "I was thinking about leaving but I wanted to check to see if you wanted to come" He nodded to the side. I looked over at him and hesitated.

Shouldn't he be more concerned about-... I dunno the chance of running into enemies or something? I mean-... We are still in DC so...

"Um, sure" I tell him. If he's going I'm going. Period. Plus I feel the need to kick some Hydra ass if we do run into anyone. "Is Sam coming?" He nodded.

"Yeah he's goin too" He put a hand through his hair before glancing into the hall. "Leaving in about 10 minutes so get dressed" He added. I nod and he closed the door behind him.

...

A few minutes later I shifted into German shepherd form and waited by the door. Soon after Dad walked out of his room.

"What pace are you ok with going today?" He asked as he walked over to the counter. I hesitated before barking once.

"Fast it is" He smirked with a nod before walking over to where I was and opened the door. I ran out and he closed it behind us.

~0~

About 15 minutes later we got to our usually running area and started the laps. We were on our 10th mile now.

I was panting as we ran around a turn and I saw Sam a ways ahead of us. We quickly came up and about to pass.

"On your left" Dad quickly said as we passed. Something tells me that's going to be a normal thing now.

"Rogers, I swear you say that one more time-!" We quickly kept going and passed the Lincoln memorial before coming around the Reflecting Pool.

"Kate slow down a little" I heard Dad say. I looked up at him before slowing down a bit. He was breathing a bit heavier than he normally does which was a little weird. We slowed down to a slow jog.

"On your freakin left Cap" Sam laughed. Dad rolled his eyes and smirked as we were jogging. I kept looking up at him; my ears perked up. I whined and barked to get his attention. He looked down and saw me looking at him intently.

"I'm fine, I'm fine" He breathed. I growled slightly before looking straight ahead. God damn him and his lying. I hate it. What does he have to hide; seriously.

We kept going a bit and started down a few paths under the trees; still somewhat near the Reflecting Pool. We had picked up the pace slightly. We came around one turn and suddenly Dad tripped a bit. I jumped a bit and look at him as he hid what looked like a pained face. I stayed pace with him as he started slowing down and we finally came to a walk; he was holding a hand to his stomach.

I looked ahead before up at him and barked. He looked down at me.

"You can go on ahead Kate, I'll catch up" he told me.

...You sure about that, Dad?

I hesitated before firmly planting my feet and sitting. He sighed and gave a nod to himself; getting that I wasn't leaving.

He took a few even breaths and swallowed. I kept looking at him or a few moments.

Is it the gunshot wound? I know he's practically healed by now; but the doctors did say that the tissue and muscle will take a bit longer; about 2 weeks or so. So he should be completely healed within about 4-5 days.

I looked to the side when a few birds flew by and to the trees near us.

Suddenly I heard rapid footsteps coming up from behind us and someone full blown ran into Dad; not that he went far but they both kinda hit each other. I jumped a bit and saw the person.

"Oh- I'm sor-" I quickly barked and jumped at the man before pushing him to the ground. He tried to scoot back and I quickly jumped on him and growled before barking again.

"Kate-!" I heard Dad behind me before I felt someone pull me off the person and I barked before letting him pull me back a few steps. "I'm sorry about that" Dad said quickly and helped the man up. He looked a bit started but nodded.

"It's fine; I should've been watching where I was going... But- You might wanna use a leash though pal" He nodded to me. "Animal Control might take your dog" I felt my fur bristle and I growled again; making sure he got the message.

"Don't worry I will" Dad told him; holding a flat hand out for me to stay put. The man looked at me and I didn't hesitate to growl again before he quickly jogged off.

Dad let out a breath before looking at the ground; then put a hand through his hair. He then looked at me and I quickly averted my eyes as I looked to the left like I saw something.

"What's the holdup Rogers" Sam suddenly jogged up to us. Dad looked at him and I think I caught him glancing at me.

"Think we're gonna head back" He said.

"Oh boy, injuries acting up?" Sam asked. Dad gave him a nod before putting a hand through his hair.

"Alright, try icing it a bit; that'll help" Sam said. Dad gave another nod before he jogged off.

"Let's go" Was all I heard him say and we started walking for home.

~0~

A bit later after we had gotten home I was laying across the couch watching a movie. The Incredibles to be exact. It's like one of my favorite Disney movies besides some of the classics. Fox and the Hound was always a favorite growing up for me.

"Here" I glanced to the side seeing Dad hand me a bowl over the back of the couch. I furrowed my eyebrows before slowly reaching out to take it. I peeked over the rim of the bowl.

"Ice cream?" I question. He nods before walking back into the kitchen. "That bad?" I add; looking a bit guilty. He laughs.

After a bad mission if Dad or I got hurt we would just eat ice cream and watch TV for hours and sit through the pain. It was fun yet miserable; a good combo right?

"No I'm fine I just thought we could eat ice cream" He seemed pretty amused. I laugh before nodding.

"Alright then" I mumble to myself before eating some on a spoon. Dad and I both loved Cookies and Cream ice cream. It was amazing. I got him addicted to it. "But was that what was bothering you today?" I asked slowly. Don't wanna push if he doesn't want to talk about it. I didn't hear anything for a second.

"Yeah, but only a little" He finally says before walking over. I was still lying across the couch and I looked up to see him. I quickly sat up so he could sit down.

"You're fine" He says as he sits down. I raise an eyebrow as he picked up the pillow I was laying on and put it in his lap.

"You sure?" I asked slowly. I don't want to make him uncomfortable with the injury acting up.

"Yeah Kate I'm fine" He laughed. "It's fine you can lay back down" He added as he ate a bite of ice cream from his bowl. I shrug before lying back down on the pillow.

"Comfortable?" He chuckled.

"Yeah this is surprisingly comfortable" I reply with a smile; almost in a sarcastic tone but serious.

I took a bite of ice cream and looked back over at the TV. It was at the part where Bob and Helen all at dinner; this is before the rest of the family breaks into fight may I remind you and before frozone shows up. I always joked that he sounded a bit like Director Fury; Clint agreed too!

I kept my eyes on the screen as I took another bite of ice cream.

"Hey Kate?" I heard Dad speak up. I didn't look at him.

"Hm?" I mumbled as I was focused on the TV.

"If I ask you something do you promos to answer me honestly?" I furrowed my eyebrows as they unfocused from the TV and my eyes slowly went over to him.

"I'm... Sure?" I say slowly. He was looking at me before he glanced at the TV briefly.

"When you and Natasha kept trying to- well..." He trailed off; putting his bowl on the table.

"Get you a date?" I end in somewhat an awkward manner flatly. He nods and was quiet for a moment. I put my bowl on the table too and sat up.

"Were you helping her just to help or do you miss having-... Well, you know- a mom...?" He asked quietly; looking over at me. He was serious as I felt a bit awkward.

"Wha- n-no, of course not" I say quickly before looking down. "I just thought it'd be fun to help out with" I shrug before glancing at him. "No D... Dad I'm fine" I hesitated to finish for a moment and I suddenly felt lost.

Maybe I was doing it for that reason. I've gotten used to it being just me and Dad but-... A mom does really complete a family and although we have each other, there's something missing. I wasn't doing it for that reason at first. I just thought that he should start thinking about moving on. Peggy even told him that to, in a sense. But now that I think about it... Maybe a small part of me did want a mom. I would never want to force something like that on him though.

"You sure?" He asked. I could almost see what looked like hurt in his eyes and I nodded. "I know I'm not the best family replacement- not even close" He seemed to let out a breath like he was taking in that fact. "But if you miss having a mom, Kate I will try my best to get out there mor-"

"Dad- seriously. I'm fine" I almost laugh. "Me and Natasha were just having a little fun" I tell him. "Moms are overrated right?" I say slowly to try and make him feel better although it made a piece of my heart crack in half. I started thinking about my mom and I let out a sigh to keep my emotions under control to make him feel better. He still didn't look anywhere near convinced as he looked down. My gaze saddened a bit. I felt bad now. I'm not forcing this on him but I probably gave him the impression of that.

"You deserve so much better. Part of me thinks you would've been better off if I hadn't adopted you." A hurt look spread across my face and I felt my mouth open barely from shock and the loss at not knowing what to say. "You don't know how many times I wish I could change what happened to your family so you could have your normal life back" He was still looking at the ground. I took a deep breath.

"But- I don't want my old life back" I say quietly. He looked over at me with a concerned and confused look like he couldn't believe I would ever say such a thing. "I like having you as my family" I tell him; feeling my eyes burn. He shook his head just barely. He's really against this isn't he? And here I thought he was happy that he adopted me. "So..." I swallowed and really started to feel my eyes water. He suddenly looked like he felt bad for me and he was about to speak up. "Do you regret adopting me being the best deci-" I start.

"No" Dad replied; breathing out before small and saddens smile. I know I've seen that look before that was on his face; mostly of pity and regret. "No Kate I wouldn't dream of giving you up or changing my decision to adopt you" He told me. "But I know you would be happier and much safer away from this kind of life" He says; looking back at the ground. I sniffled and nodded to myself.

I completely forgot about the movie.

"Just for your information," I start; my voice brittle and I was literally almost crying. He looked back over. "I'd give up having a normal life and family a thousand times over if it means getting you as a dad" I bit my bottom lip hard as I sniffled in a breath before looking up. I saw a somewhat shocked look cross his face and he looked almost confused like that's the last freaking thing he ever expected me to say. "Normal families are overrated" I try to laugh but it came out as a slight cry/cough. Aw hell that did it.

I felt him wrap an arm around my shoulders. I didn't even hesitate to hug him back briefly before rubbing my eyes with my hands. He pulled me over more and hugged my again. He was kinda hugging me from the side now but kinda behind me so I couldn't really hug him back at the moment.

"Normal families are overrated" He agreed and I could practically hear him smile. If you could hear smiles that is...

"Do you still want to send me back?" I ask almost flatly after a few seconds.

"Kate I never said I wanted to send you back" He says; almost flatly as well but still with a certain level of care. "I made a promise" He says. I nod. "...and signed papers; I did that too" He adds with a small laugh and I ended up laughing a bit. "And although I may not have known you for the first- 13..." He stops for a moment.

"And a half" I add. He smirks and nods.

"13 and a half yrs of your life;" He says and we both laugh a bit again. "I will spend the rest of my life loving you, and protecting you, and doing whatever I need to do to make you happy" He says and kisses the side of my head before hugging me tighter. "Because you are my daughter, and you always will be" He adds. I bit my lip and nodded before letting out a breath.

Best dad ever right here. I know I had my family before; but I have moved on... I have my new family of one and he happens to be an Avenger and also a bit of a dork...

"There's not going back, you're not getting away" He adds in an amused tone before hugging me even tighter and I had to laugh. Yep. Definitely dork.

"When there's a will there's a way"

"Challenge excepted" He says right back and I tried to squirm out of his grip and didn't get anywhere thanks to god damn super solder strength as I started a giggling fit. He was still hugging me from behind so he was keeping my arms trapped at my sides. I kicked my legs before rolling over a bit into him.

"I will bite you!" I laugh and say seriously.

"And I can always just do this-" He says before he started tickling me and I started laughing and squirmed around even more. I tried to slide off the couch and only succeeded in getting absolutely nowhere sense his grip was still tight.

"Dad-!" I yelled. "Stop I can't breathe!" I laughed again before rolling to the side. He finally stopped tickling me and I coughed and laughed again. "My sides hurt now" I laugh a bit.

"Sorry" He laughed before pulling my head closer to him before he kissed my forehead. I hugged him again and he wrapped one arm around me and I looked at the TV.

We missed like 20 minutes of the movie and Bob- or Mr. Incredible was now doing his behind his wife's back stuff with the super hero business. Haha.

I felt my breathing even out as we continued to watch the movie.

~0~

After the movie ended I got ready for bed and just kinda fell into the bed when I was ready to go to sleep. I quickly got under my covers and pulled them up under my chin as I rolled onto my left side; facing away from the door.

I was dosing off when I felt my hair behind pushed from my face and Dad kissed my forehead.

"Night honey" He whispered. I turned over and opened my eyes.

"Night Dad" I give a big smile. He smiles a bit bigger before I lean up to hug him. He gave me a strong hug before I got back under the covers. He walked for the door and turned my ceiling fan on as he left. I let my head fall back onto my pillow and I let out a breath before closing my eyes.

**Please review if you liked it :) Love hearing from you guys and I want to know if you all have more requests. I list them all and see how to make them work best to my ability! :) **


	78. (sequel) Chapter 16

Chapter 78

**Hi! :D New chapter! There will be another update tomorrow morning! Just letting you all know! Going by United States east coast time that is XD so a new one will be up within the next 12 hours or so! :) I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**BIG ANNOUNCEMENT BELOW**

**Really quick to PinkyWinky44 about your request. I will go ahead and explain what she said now. So if you read my other story Safe Haven, she has requested that i do a 'what if' scenario cross over between this story and that one. If you haven't read it, please do :) and then tell me what you think of this idea :) **

**PinkyWinky44: I think it is a very unique idea :) It has great potential, but i unfortunately already have a tight schedule with the stories i'm writing now. So unless i get A LOT of requests for the crossover; i may have to put it on hold for a while**

My eyes trailed along the isle as we walked down it.

A few days had gone by. Dad finally told me that we were officially moving back to the tower. I can't wait to be back home. Being here hasn't helped me sleep the last few nights I'll admit that... But- Of course I'll think of our old apartment as home to; considering we spent almost a year here in DC- but the tower is where I first came after they found me. It holds a special place in my book.

Dad had also been talking to Sam more about this Hydra lead. I don't know why this specific one is so important but I guess it's someone important to Hydra.

Oh- and Dad had to get some stuff at the store so I tagged along so I wasn't lost with boredom back at the room.

"Ooo! What about this?" I ask before hurrying over to the end of the isle and grabbed a bag of cheddar popcorn. He sighs and rolls his eyes before nodding. I smile and put it in the basket he was holding.

"Oh! And don't forget these!" I shout before running to the other end we just came from; coming back with a jug of MountainDew.

"Does that look in anyway healthy?" He asked before taking it and putting it in the basket.

"Does it look like I care?" I laughed. He shook his head before trying to hide a smirk.

"What else do we need" He said somewhat to himself.

"Milk" I reply; not look at up from the ground.

"Oh! - yeah, can't forget that" He quickly scratched it on a piece of paper before looking up. We walked down a different isle and he looked a ways down before looking down at the little list he wrote.

"Can we have spaghetti tonight?" I ask; looking up at him. He hesitated before looking at the pastas in from of us on the shelves.

"Alright" He gave a nod. "Pick one that is somewhat healthy" He smirked. I nod before grabbing the one with extra protein. Putting it in the basket he had in one hand I put my hands back into my pockets before my eyes wandered.

I looked down back the way we came and my eyes widened at who I saw.

"What?" He asked. He looked at who I was looking at and smirked before looking down at me. "Isn't that Uh,"

"...Yeah" I end.

You all remember that mother and daughter from New York City that I saved once and saw at the zoo? Here they are of all places, in this little market that isn't even on the map.

I drew my eyes away from them for a moment before my eyes locked on the isle somewhat near them.

"Holy shit!" I blurt out and Dad jerked his head around at me.

"Watch your mouth!" I heard Dad scold before I was running towards it. I was much closer to them as I ran up to the isle and looked at the boxes of cookies. I hadn't had some amazing chips ahoy cookies since like- before the warehouse.

"Dad I need these!" I beg as he walked up to me on my left side with a sigh.

I heard a little gasp behind me and I saw a little girl run up next to me on my right.

"Mommy! Can we get cookies too?" She asked with excitement. I just barely glanced Dad and saw him looking pretty amused now and I looked at the mother that walked over with a sigh.

"Alright" She sighed; pushing a cart full of food; struggling only a little bit.

I picked up a box and handed to her; it was much higher than she could reach.

"Thank you!" She whispered with an excited voice before handing it to her mom. I smiled before picking up another box.

"Dad can I get some?" I ask slowly with a hesitant smile. He shakes his head and lets out a breath; obviously amused.

"Looks as if some things never change" We turned to see the mother smiling.

"No, they definitely don't" Dad agreed before taking the box from me with a smile.

"Dad, you said we needed milk" I remind him. He quickly turns to me before nodding.

"Right" He nods before turning back to them.

"Mommy I want some fruit snacks" She tugs on her sleeve.

"Ok ok" She laughs with a sigh before giving us a smile as she walked past. We both smiled too before continuing.

"I'll check the next isle for yummy foods!" I say and almost giggle before running away.

"Kid you're gonna be the death of me" He mumbles as I ran to the next isle.

I looked through the pop tarts and grabbed a box of strawberry and a box of cookies and cream; our favorites, before turning and my jaw dropped.

"Kate get back here" I heard Dad from the other isle as he came around.

"We're getting these!" I make clear; holding out a box of Avengers cheez-its.

"Do I look like I have all the money in the world to get all this food" He asked flatly.

"No but Tony does" I reply with a straight face before smiling big. "We are technically living off the hotel room he rented out for us" I shrug.

"And as much as I appreciate it, we should also be paying for ourselves" He says. "Last item" He points at me holding the cheese-its. "Here," He took the list from his pocket and ripped it in half. "Get some and meet me at the front" I smile and nod; taking the half of the list before running down the other isle.

~0~

We made it to the check out and I was helping Dad get the groceries into the box. It was a self-check out. They used the extra packaging boxes for customers to use for transporting heavier items... Kinda like what Costco does.

He picked it up before we headed for the door and got outside. I was looking down at my phone when Dad nudged me.

"Think you can manage to carry this?" He asked. I put my phone in pocket with a nod and took the box; grunting slightly as it was a bit heavy before he walked back. I furrowed my eyebrows and followed him when I saw the mother and young girl trying to get all their groceries to the car.

I saw her huff in irritation as she was trying to pick up several boxes and other food items at once when they fell back into the cart.

"Want some help?" He spoke up as he walked over. She looked up and smiled before dropping a can into the cart.

"Oh, if it's not too much trouble I would love some help" She chuckled before picking up another box. Dad smiled and nodded before walking over and picked up a few boxes of food. I walked over and she smiled at me.

"Can I carry somethin?" I smiled.

"Could you help me with this please?" I looked down and saw the little girl trying to drag a new suit case almost twice her size. I couldn't help but smile bigger. My god, she is the most adorable thing ever.

"Of course!" I smile before helping her roll it across the street; following them.

We got to a grey jeep and she shifted the box to her other arm and opened the trunk before setting it down. Dad set down the several boxes he was holding and we walked over seconds later and I helped the little girl lift the suit case into the trunk.

"Bingo" I smirked before high-fiving the younger girl.

"Thank you, you're quite the gentlemen. Most people don't- Uh, don't do that anymore" She smiled.

"You're welcome, no trouble at all" He smiled.

"Oh, my name is Sarah"

"Steve" He shook her hand. I looked over at about the same time Dad looked at me.

"This is my daughter Kate" He gestures to me and I walk over with a smile.

"Hi" I give a bit of a shy smile. I shook her hand and she looked at us for some brief seconds.

"Oh wow, you two look so much alike" She laughed a bit; almost with surprise. "Especially your eyes" She smiled; cocking her head to the side. Dad smirked and I hid a laugh.

Wow, that's- really weird considering we aren't even related. "Oh- This is my daughter Sophie" She smiles as the girl Sophie walked over and held Sarah's hand and gave us a shy wave. I waved back with a happy smile before Dad looked back at Sarah.

"Thank you again" She smiled.

"Yeah, no problem" He smiled before nodding to me as I picked our box of groceries back up.

After saying bye we headed over to the truck Dad rented.

"You glad to finally know they're names?" He asked with a smirk. I rolled my eyes and smile.

"Yeah, thanks to you being all polite and shit" I laugh.

"Kate!-" He started. "What is with you and the bad mouth?" He questioned as he unlocked the truck and we got in; I put the box behind us in the back seat.

"It's not bad mouth, they're just language enhancers!" I argue. He sarcastically nods.

"Uh huh, ok. Then stop using your language enhancers" He says; hiding a smile as we pulled out of the parking lot.

~0~

About an hour later we got back and I immediately opened my avengers cheez-its and started munching on them.

"Want one?" I asked. He looked over and shrugged before holding out a hand. I specifically picked out one and put it in his hand. He wasn't looking as he took it and was about to eat it when he stopped and sighed; smirking before looking at me.

"It's unique" I explain. The cheez-it had his shield on it. He rolls his eyes before eating it.

"Can I watch TV?" I asked.

"Help me put the groceries away first" He says as I was on my way to the couch. I just give a silent huff and toss the box on the couch before walking over. "I'll hand them to you, you put them away?" I nod in reply before he took out the milk and handed it to me.

"So when are we going back to the tower?" I asked. He looks at me as he handed me a water jug.

"Soon" He says before handing me some sandwich meat. I put it in the fridge along with some cheese. "Catch" I looked up in time to almost have a panic attack as a flying box of pop tarts was coming at me.

"Holy Jesus!" I blurted out and fell against the counter as I caught it. I looked at him with wide eyes and he started laughing.

"You almost cost us straw berry pop tarts" I state; holding them carefully. "Shame on you" I say disgustingly. He was trying to hide his laugh as he tossed me the other box of pop tarts; more gently that time and I easily caught it before putting it in the cupboard.

~0~

A little while later it was about dinner time and we were currently in the kitchen.

"Kate, stop that, you're really starting to freak me out" I glanced at Dad as I was flipping a knife in my hand. I rolled my eyes and put it back in the drawer before leaning against the counter.

We were making the spaghetti- or, he was. He can actually cook pretty well which is a shocker. There was a ding from the toaster and I looked over to see the loaf of bread that was in the toaster finish. It was one of those toasters that looks like a microwave. Not seconds later the phone rang.

"Kate can you grab that? He asked as he went for the phone.

"Yep" I say; popping the P before I walked over and opened the toaster and quickly grabbed the bread and chucked it towards the counter from it being unexpectedly hot- stupid me not being prepared.

"Hey Sam" Dad started; holding the phone to his ear as he was only somewhat facing me.

I cursed under my breath as the bread fell onto the floor and I dive bomb for it; only to make a loud thud and a small 'ouch' left my mouth.

"Really? How much"

I peeked around the edge of the counter and saw Dad glance over before looking back and then looked back again in confusion; seeing me not there.

"Yeah" He trailed off slowly. "No, Kate just disappeared" He explained; as he turned back; not facing me. I quickly stood up and put the bread on the counter; getting into a very casual position leaning on the counter.

"Yeah definitely" Dad nodded before turning back again but stopped; seeing me back. He furrowed his eyebrows and I smiled; giving a small wave. "Uh huh" Dad stated; a bit confused and I couldn't tell whether he was just stating that to himself or if he was directing it at me or Sam. "Alright, see you then" Seconds later he hung up as I walked over to the pot of spaghetti that was finished I think.

"What did Sam want?" I asked; picking out a piece of spaghetti; inspecting it to see if it was done.

"More info on the Hydra lead" He says; still looking at the phone.

I looked at the spaghetti a little longer before turning and chucking it at the wall. What I didn't see was Dad who had walked around that way. He jumped and did this weird back bend thing to the side to avoid getting hit by the flying noodle; almost getting into a bit of a fighting stance not seconds later before looking at me with shocked confusion.

My eyes went wide and I started laughing.

"What are you doing?" He asked; clueless before he started to laugh. "Throwing-" He looked at the wall; not sure of what to say. "Throwing spaghetti- at the wall" He stated before looking at me with an amused face. I was laughing my ass off over at the counter.

"You know- that trick where you throw the noodles at the wall and if they stick it means the spaghetti- is ready?" I asked; still laughing.

"Yeah, my mom used to do that" He said; looking back at the wall before looking at me; still pretty amused. He picked it off the wall and looked at it before throwing it in my direction.

A look of fear crossed my face and I quickly ducked; letting it hit the cupboard behind me before I started laughing again and let a sound escape my mouth.

"Did you just snort?" He laughed; walking over.

"No!" I make clear. "I didn't" I tell him.

"I think that was a snort" He says before throwing the noodle in the trash and side hugged me before kissing the top of my head.

"You'll never get me to admit to it" I make my point. He rolls his eyes with a smirk before pulling out to plates and we started to get food.

**Was it ok? :| Please review if you liked it, my writing confidence has been a bit down lately for some weird reason… Don't know why. Trying to catch up with the stories it getting to me XD**


	79. (sequel) Chapter 17

Chapter 79

**Next chapter! I told you it would be up soon! :D This one is a bit longer, I hope you enjoy it! The next one will be up hopefully in the next few days if I can write it that quickly :)**

**NOTE! This is continuing straight from last night's chapter**

**.**

**Later that night...**

It was dark. I was in my old room of our apartment. My eyes locked on my door as I slowly opened it. The creek echoed and I let out a shaky breath.

"H-Hello?" I called quietly; my voice shaky. "D-Dad?" My feet were quiet on the floor as I made my way into the living room. It was dark and the TV was the only thing on. But the channel was static-y. The channel went in and out of the news.

I felt my lips part in shock when I realized it was the news from the day SHIELD fell. The carrier was crashing into the Triskelion. The TV suddenly went black. I let out a shaky breath and swallowed as it suddenly came back on as the grey static. I suddenly heard a small crash in the kitchen and jumped; whirling around my breath quickens.

I started to walk over slowly.

"Dad?" I called; my voice was barely a whisper as I came around the corner and peeked out. I was about to take a step when I looked down. Something was on the floor.

I kneeled down and lightly tapped the spot and pulled my fingers away; seeing red from the light of the TV.

I stood back up and my eyes slowly trailed up and I saw the blood spattering the floor get heavy and lead into the kitchen and behind the counter. It was pitch black but I could see only a little. I took small steps as I suddenly saw a pair of boots peeking out from behind the counter.

I felt a small gasp escape my lips when I started to round the corner and I recognized brown boots and the blue uniform before I stopped. My eyes closed and I took several deep breaths. They slowly opened again and I took another small step when suddenly the TV went dead from behind me and it got darker. I stopped mid step when I could almost see the body that was behind the counter. It was absolutely silent.

I heard the creek of someone that had walked into the living room and I froze. I could barely move or breathe as I finally turned around as saw a figure; completely black. I felt my breath quicken and I started to back up. The figure took a few steps towards me; I couldn't tell whether I saw a flash of metal on his arm or if it was a trick of the light- and jumped at me.

A scream escaped my lips as I slipped and fell on the blood and the dark figure hit me.

~0~

I cried out and suddenly sat up; sweating and panting. A felt a hand on my shoulder and I practically jumped to the ceiling with fright and was ready to punch.

"Hey, it's ok it's just me" It was Dad. I let out a shaky breath and took in another quick shaky one. "You ok? That was quite a nightmare" He smiled softly and sat on the side of my bed; looking a bit worried.

I was shaky so hard and I was trying to slow my breathing.

"F-Fine" I reply. "That was just really-..." I trail off for a moment. "That was horrifying" I admit and whisper more to myself; hugging my knees. He looked a little concerned. I looked around my room and out the small slit between the curtains outside. I quickly looked at the door and could've sworn someone was standing out in the dark hall. I felt my eyes widen and Dad quickly noticed and turned around; looking where I was looking. In the time that I glanced at him as he did so my eyes went back to the doorway and the shadow was gone as quickly as it appeared.

Ok. You're just seeing things. It's fine.

"You sure you're ok?" He asked with more concern and seriousness. A few seconds went by and I pulled my eyes away from the doorway that was open a crack.

"Uh-" I swallowed and my eyes went to the far wall. The small light was on in my room now; guess he turned it on, but it only lit about half of the room. "Mm hm" I breathe.

He looked at little confused but still concerned before he nodded.

"Alright, well... I'm gonna go back to bed. Just come get me if you need me or anything ok?" He stood up. I shrunk back down; pulling the blanket with me and my eyes were still lost on the wall.

"Ok" My voice was tiny and weak.

Christ, it's scarier now that I replay it in my head.

He kissed the top of my head before smiling and turning the light off.

"Night" I called.

"Night" He turned and smiled before walking out; leaving the door open a bit.

I closed my eyes before opening them.

Holy mother of god. That was a freaking bat shit crazy nightmare. Where the hell did that come from.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm down a bit when I heard that same creek and my eyes shot to the door. Someone was standing out there.

I freaked and pulled the gun from under my pillow and fired three shots; both getting out the 2 foot gap in the doorway and hitting the person; but I could hear them hit the wall. It took a step closer and I fired another shot when suddenly the shadow disappeared down the hall and I fired several more bullets and I heard a grunt and the ding of something metal and I screamed.

"Dad! Oh my god I'm sorry!" I blurted out when he lowered his shield looking shocked.

"You ok? What happened?" He asked; walking in quickly.

"S-someone was outside the door" I blurt out. He suddenly got serious and looked at the door.

"Stay here, ok?" He told me. I couldn't think straight and I watched as he backed up towards the door. "Just close and lock the door" He added. I finally nod and got up following him. "You don't open this door unless it's me alright?" I nodded quickly as he first peeked around the corner before stepping out.

"Da-" I start and he quickly puts a finger to his lips.

He mouthed 'lock the door' and I nodded before he walked down and I closed the door before putting my back to it; letting myself slide down til I was sitting on the floor and hugging my knees.

~0~

Almost 45 minutes went by and I was freaking out. Dad said not to open the door until he said so, so that's what I was doing despite worrying like hell at the moment. I let out a breath and my eyes dart around. It was quiet for a moment and I heard a knock on my door. I had my gun up and ready as I stayed quiet.

"Kate?" I furrowed my eyebrows a bit. Sam? I stood up and slowly opened the door to see it was Sam standing there.

"You ok? Coast is clear by the way, no one in the apartment" He says. I was still breathing a bit shaky and I nod.

"W-Where'd dad go?" I ask; looking past him a bit.

"Dealing with the Police, the gun shots were called in so he's dealing with that at the moment. Right now he's going with someone broke in." He says. I could tell he was concerned. I nod and swallow; still holding my gun.

"Want some Starbucks?" He smirked. "Picked it up a bit ago" He chuckles. I take a deep breath and nod with a small smile before he walked down the hall. My eyes looked on the line of bullet holes in the wall before I quickly followed him down the hall and into the main area and to the kitchen. He handed me one and I took it before taking a small sip.

I took it away from my lips and held it in my hands when my eyes went to my left; seeing Dad's shield leaning against the counter with 3 nicks in it. I seriously didn't notice it was him. I thought I heard 4 bullets hit it but I guess not.

I just went and sat down on the couch; still holding my cup.

~0~

Minutes later I was finishing on my coffee when the door opened and closed and my head shot to the door as I saw dad walk over.

"You ok?" He asked. I nod; my Starbucks cup in the air as I was drinking the remains. He sat down next to me; Sam was in the hall on the phone with someone.

He was looking at me until I lowered the cup and swallowed; holding it with both hands and I glanced at him.

"What?" I asked quietly.

"Nothing... Just- I'm really worried about you right now" He smirked. I look down as he picked up a Starbucks cup of his own. I glanced at him and my eyes locked on his arm and my jaw dropped. Sorry kids- but holy fucking shit what have I done.

"I-I shot you?" I stammer. He immediately looks at me and at his right shoulder which looked like it got hit by a bullet; blood staining his white shirt.

"Oh-.. Uh, no that was just-" He started quickly.

"I shot you" I repeat louder. "I-... I shot you" I felt my breathing speed up; the realization really starting to hit me before I was hugging my knees and bearing my face. I wanted to cry now.

I shot Steve Rogers.

I shot Captain America.

Better yet, I shot my freaking _Dad_.

Oh my god- I'm going to hell.

What kind of monster am I.

"Hey, Kate it's ok" He laughed and side hugged me.

"I shot you" I repeated again; my voice brittle.

"It's wasn't your fault, I just wasn't ready when I ran down the hall" He adds amusingly.

"You've been shot 5 times in the last 2 and a half weeks" I mumble; my voice still brittle.

"Honey its ok" He told me; hugging me a big tighter. He was trying to keep the mood light and happy but it wasn't working for me.

How the hell am I going to forgive myself after this?

I briefly caught a glimpse of Sam hang up and was standing at the base of the hall into the room we were currently in.

Sam looked confused and I caught Dad's somewhat guilty look -in the reflection of the TV- he was giving Sam.

I sniffled in a breath before letting a shaky one out.

"Hey," He lifted my chin slightly before moving the hair away from my eyes. "It was not your fault ok?" He smiled. "Doesn't even hurt" He adds. I look down before I hugged him. He wrapped his arms around me in a hug too.

About a minute later I felt his arm move and he turned the TV on.

"Wanna watch something?" He asked before looking down at me. I hesitate before nodding and he changed the channel until he got to animal planet and Animal Cops Houston was on; it was a pretty interesting show I liked watching during my spare time.

"I'll be over in the kitchen ok?" I look up at him and nod before he smiled and got up. I finally lie down and watch for a few minutes when I felt that same chill ran over my arms. I hugged myself to keep warm before I decided to get up and go get a blanket from my room.

Dad looked up and over at me as I got up and gave me a smile as I walked out and towards my room. I hesitate to walk in and I cautiously looked around. I quickly walked in and grabbed it when I heard someone step behind me and I quickly turned with a bit of a sharp breath that I took in.

Nothing was there.

I hesitated and then quickly walked out and got back on the couch quickly before putting the blanket around me and lie down. Dad gave me a bit of a look.

"You ok?" He chuckled a bit. I could still tell he was a bit worried. I nod quickly and give a brief smile before looking at the screen with droopy eyes.

I tried my best to stay awake to make sure I didn't end up freaking shooting anyone else that night but my eyes eventually started closing.

~0~

About 20 minutes later Sam was looking briefly at the bullet holes in the wall. He was trying to put together a few bits and pieces of what might have happened. Once he came to the same conclusion again he sighed before walking back into the main room and to the opposite side of the counter that Steve was on.

"What'd you think" He spoke up. Steve looked at him before glancing at Kate who was behind Sam on the couch still; dosing off.

"I don't know" He says before looking down.

"There's no evidence of someone breaking in" Sam reminds him. "This may not be something physical that she's seeing" Sam says. "There might be something wrong with her"

"Sam, there isn't anything wrong with her" He makes clear; walking around the counter.

"It might be something mental Steve, she just went through a traumatizing event and she seems to still be shaken up over it" He argues. "Getting a diagnosis might be a good idea just to make sure in case it happens to be PTSD"

"I don't wanna scare her with the thought of that" He says before looking over at her. "Someone her age shouldn't have to go through that" He looks down before drinking from the water bottle he was holding.

"The fact is, you can't protect her from everything Cap" He says. "And she chose this life; she knew the possibilities of what could happen. You also need to trust her to believe she can get through these problems herself"

Steve nodded; deep in thought as he stared down at the counter.

"How bad did she get you" He nodded to his shoulder. He glanced at him before looking over at his own shoulder.

"Not bad, just a flesh wound; skimmed me" He explains. Sam just nods before drinking from his own water bottle.

"So what's your plan?" He asked. Steve looked at him for more. "Are you staying in DC or are you going back to the tower?"

"We'll be going back to the tower before the month's over" Steve replies; sitting on one of the stools. "She's having trouble just being here as it is" He adds. Sam nods before looking back at Kate briefly.

"Has she asked you at all about Barnes" Steve looked at him and hesitated to say anything.

"I know she's curious..." He nods to himself. "She knows I'm not telling her everything and I know it pisses her off" He adds.

"So you're still not gonna tell her" He nods to himself as well. Steve was looking at Kate as he stood up.

"No I'm not gonna tell her" He says with a sigh before making it over to Kate. He gently picked her up; cradling her against his chest before he turned to Sam again as he spoke.

"She'll start asking questions sooner or later" He points out. Steve shrugs a nod as he started walking down the hall.

"And I won't tell her unless I have to; she doesn't need it on her mind. I know she worries too so..." He trails off before he decided to put Kate in his room. She didn't seem to have any positive sleeping experience with her room the last few days.

"Alright" Sam nodded to himself.

"Heard from Natasha at all?" He asked. Steve shook his head as he carefully set Kate down on his bed and pulled the covers over her before walking towards the door where Sam was.

"She's been off the grid looking for Clint- I think, after helping us he had to go way under until it was over" Steve explains. Sam only gave a nod before he saw Steve's eyes trail down the hall behind him. He turned and looked out.

"What?" He asked. Steve's gaze was lost down the hall for a moment before he looked at Sam.

"Nothing its just-..." He hesitated. "When she started shooting I had already turned around and I couldn't see anyone there" He says. "And by the time I was back over there with my shield I still hadn't see anything but I didn't want to give her the impression she was the only one seeing whatever it was she saw" He says before glancing at her as she was still sleeping. "Do you think it's PTSD?" He asked. Sam hesitated to say anything as they walked back into the kitchen area.

"It's hard to say, but she does have many of the symptoms so it's definitely possible" Steve sighs and nods before picking up his water bottle and drank some of it. "She carries a gun with her 24/7, heck hasn't she waken up from nightmares pointing a gun at you?" Sam points out. Steve had to nod as he looked down.

"Sometimes... she's definitely more jumpy" He agrees.

"You even said so yourself that she's starting to show more aggression and caution towards people; - " He adds. "-She doesn't trust people like she used to"

"Yeah, but she's just taking some time to adjust-"

"Look- You're right, she might just be in a state of worry at the moment, it'll probably pass her by and she'll move on" Sam shrugs. Steve nods before looking down and then back up at him as he continued.

"But on the off chance that it doesn't..." He trails off. "If it gets worse..." Steve continued to look at him as he spoke. "She may end up being permanently scarred by what happened; and that can be dangerous. Not just for her, but to you and everyone else"

"That girl of yours has a great deal of power that she sometimes can't control" He points out.

"You think I don't know that?" Steve asked.

"I never said that" Sam made clear. "But what I'm trying to say, is that if she doesn't learn to let go of that caution and fear based aggression, she's might end up hurting someone" He says. "Maybe you, maybe not- although she already kinda has" He nods to his shoulder.

"That is out of line" Steve made clear; getting slightly more aggressive.

"Hey- I'm just making a point" he held up his hands. "I'm just saying, you should be ready because unlike us- people who have seen war on the battle field, the loss- everything...- she doesn't know how to deal with the emotional ties" He says. "I know what I'm talkin about man" He smirks. Steve relaxed slightly and nodded with a very _very_ small smile; barely noticeable. "I deal with this for all vets, and the fact is, that she's gone through something similar" Sam explains. "Like war, you can lose those closest to you in this business; those you care about." Sam says. Steve looks at him and nods; looking down. "And like many; she almost lost that too" Sam finishes. Steve looked back over at him again. "Just some preaching words of advice" He sighed. Steve smirked just barely before nodding as he stood, "Alright, I'm gonna head out" Sam sighed.

"We'll go over those files tomorrow" Steve spoke up. Sam gave a nod before walking for the door and after he left Steve just stood in the room for a few seconds before looking down to his left at his shield leaning against the wall. He hesitantly picked it up as he slowly let himself sit on the couch; looking over the newly found nicks left in the paint with a sigh.

**A bit of a weird plot twist thingy- hope the chapter was ok. Was the beginning creepy at all? I wrote it at night- scared the hell out of me when my dog pawed on my door at 3 am in the morning during writing it. I almost threw my phone at my door X'D**

**Please review if you liked it :) **


	80. (sequel) Chapter 18

Chapter 80

**Hey guys! So sorry I know I miss led you into thinking this chapter would be up sooner. I was going to update this two days ago since the Captain America: Civil War trailer came out. The trailer really got me excited, but I'm also having a compete moment of panic- it looks like an incredible movie I just hope they don't kill anyone off XD I can't help but think like that. I know, it's stupid but the MCU is like- my number one favorite thing ever! X'D **

**I wanted to give you your chapter that day to up the excitement. But guess what? I was typing the chapter on my phone in my notes app (I had like 6,000 words worth of stuff), and my phone started to lag a bit and wouldn't catch up with the words I was typing. I stopped and waited a moment before pressing the screen a few times. And as if it was freaking destiny I managed to select the whole document and paste over blank space- erasing everything I just wrote…. I seriously stared at my phone for almost a minute. It took a few seconds to sink in before I almost threw my phone at the wall. I tried to get it back but I didn't have my phone backed up to ITunes or anything so it was lost.**

**I spent a good hour at my punching bag in my basement that night. My German shepherd, Scout stayed with me for a while. I think he knew I was pissed off XD**

**ANYWAY! This somewhat follows a certain request from **_**Sunchaser**_**. I am keeping track of all your reviews don't worry! Just know I do take them all into account. I have a very loose idea what will happen in the story in the future so I'm trying to compromise it so I can try and get your requests in too. :)**

**Wow… ok, please read the chapter now XD**

It had been about two days since I had that nightmare that scared the shit out of me and caused me to accidentally shoot my own father...

Yeah.

He says it wasn't my fault... and that I shouldn't blame myself. Honestly I'm still scared I'll shoot someone else if I have another nightmare.

Sometimes I really wish I could just be put in a room where there wasn't a chance in hell that I could hurt anyone.

And I still haven't figured out what that dream was about. I know what I saw- and I think I know who it was that jumped at me. I just don't want to admit it to myself.

Dad talked to me a couple times about the nightmare. He wanted to know what the person looked like that I saw. I didn't really know what to tell him so I just told him it was hard to see them. If I tell him that it looked like-... Well, you probably know who I'm referring to right now, and he'd probably... I don't know what he'd do actually.

But anyway, I hadn't gotten much sleep the last few nights. The next day after I fell asleep on the couch and woke up from the same nightmare and almost lost control and shifted into a wolf. Thank god Dad wasn't home and had run out to the store because I really wanted more pop tarts. I hadn't lost control and shifted in a long time.

Back in the warehouse- that's where they really pushed me past my limit as you all know. Every day was a day that I ended up being the cause of someone getting hurt or worse- killed. Because I couldn't control my ability.

"I still don't understand why you have to do this" I mumble, watching Dad packing. He looks at me briefly.

"It won't be that long Kate, two days tops" He says; putting a shirt into the duffle bag. "Yeah but still" I mumble.

Dad and Sam got some information on a Hydra lead. Of course he won't tell me about it. Dad was leaving me here for- like he said, about 2 days.

Natasha was still off the grid- looking for Clint I think. Tony was in the process of getting ahold of everyone. Ok, I'll explain why. I overheard a conversation between Dad and Tony last night, they're thinking about bringing the team back together to live at the Tower. Saying it will be easier to take these things on with each other than by ourselves; and it'll be a lot safer. That's the main reason I think Dad wants us to move back.

"Why can't I go with you though?" I asked; leaning against his bedroom door with my arms crossed. "What if you need an extraction from this place or something?" He stopped and turned to me.

"Kate, we talked about this" He says a bit more seriously. "This isn't something you need to worry about" He picked his bag up and started towards me.

"Well obviously I should worry considering last time you told me that you almost died" I state as I followed him into living room/kitchenette.

"Kate-" He starts; probably thinking I was a bit out of line there. But he did kinda say that before the battle he had on the carrier.

"What? It's the truth!" I shot back as he tossed his bag on the couch. "You don't trust me with anything now-" I grumble.

"Hey-" He cut me off a bit before walking over and put his hands on my shoulders. "I do trust you" He makes clear. I just looked down and kept my eyes away from his. "There are just some things that you don't need to worry about" He says. My eyes stayed on the floor before I felt my shoulders slump slightly. "Can I trust you'll stay here while I'm gone?" He asked seriously. I took in a deep breath before nodding. "Good" He smiled and seemed a bit happier- thinking he got me to stay.

Well, I could watch The Walking Dead I guess; catch up on the episodes I missed from last season. He walked over and grabbed his duffle bag on the couch.

He walked towards the door when he suddenly stopped.

"Don't open the door for anyo-"

"Anyone I don't know, I know Dad" I cut him off.

"Ok...- and make sure to keep the place a bit clean, housekeeping will come around every now and then." He says when he reached for the door knob and stopped again. "Oh-! And make sure you don't leave the-"

"Leave the lights on, Dad I got it" I laugh slightly.

"I know, I know" He smiled. "I just-" He stopped briefly. "Wanna make sure I didn't forget anything" He sighs before opening the door. I smile and nod. He walked into the doorway before turning back to me and put his hands on my upper arms. "In bed by 10" He starts with a smirk. "Don't sleep in til noon" He adds. I roll my eyes.

"I think I can take care of myself for two days Dad" I laugh. "I'm not a little kid"

"Boy do I miss the days though" He sighed.

"Wha-! Am I really that bad?!" I laughed.

"No, of course not" He smiled before pulling me over for a hug. I hugged him tightly and felt him kiss the top of my head. "You be careful ok? Try to keep a low profile" He sighs before looking down at me. I could see the worry he was hiding.

"You be careful to, Dad" I give a small smile. He nods before turning and stepped into the hall. He turned in time to grunt slightly as I followed him out and immediately hugged him tightly again. He hugged me back before looking down at me. His expression changed a bit and I think he saw the sad look I was hiding.

"Here" He pulled something out of his duffle bag and put it into my hand. I looked at it for a second and recognized it immediately. It was one of the phones that SHIELD used to distribute to agents off the grid or undercover. The call couldn't be traced or hacked so the conversation was completely private. "If we get into any trouble, I'll call you ok?" He told me. I looked at it before nodding with a smile. He looked at his phone and I caught the time. "And I'm late" He said quickly before he kissed the top of my head again and walked down the hall.

"Love you" I smile; crossing my arms when I felt a slight chill. He turned back with a smile.

"Love you to Kate" He replied. "Oh-" He started backing down the hall. "And Pop tarts aren't a dinner food" He adds quickly. My eyes widened. Damn it Dad, come on!

"What?! Not fair!" I argue.

"It's completely fair" He says back with a smirk. "And don't do anything that will make me have to ground you" He points at me and gives me one of his looks. I roll my eyes and nod. He smiles before turning and walked down the hall and around the corner.

I felt my smile drop and I sighed before walking back into the room and closed and locked the door. I walked over to the living room and fell face first into the couch, still holding the phone tightly.

~0~

I was sitting on the couch a few hours later watching The Walking Dead. I was also about to fall asleep. I am so tired right now.

Suddenly the phone started ringing and immediately went for the phone Dad gave me; scrambling to pick it up as I put it to my ear.

Oh... Never mind.

My eyes darted over to the normal phone and I sighed before walking over to the kitchenette and picked it up before answering it.

"Hello?" I spoke up; scratching the back of my head.

"_Kate?_" Pepper?!

"Hey Pepper" I smiled to myself.

"_Hi! How're you doing?_" She asked. I looked around the room and hesitated.

"Pretty good, tired. But still good" I laughed.

"_I'm glad to hear it_" She chuckled. "_How about that father of yours_" She started and I laughed at her tone of voice. "_Is he any better?_"

"Yeah actually, he's doing better considering he just left" I state.

"_Just left? What do you mean?_" She asked a bit more seriously. My eyes widened briefly.

"Oh uh- he and Sam recently got some info on a Hydra location of some kind-"

"_And you're home alone?_" She asked.

"Yeah but it's fine" I laugh. "He'll be back tomorrow" I assure her. Lies. Lies. Lies. Well, I mean it's technically two days but what harm will telling her tomorrow do?

"_Ok... Well if you want someone there I can come down_" She told me. I laughed and nod to myself.

"Don't worry I'm fine" I tell her.

"_Alright, well I just wanted to check in._" She sighed. "_You guys coming back to the Tower soon?_"

"Yeah, hopefully before the months over I think Dad said" I tell her.

"_Ok well that's good_" I could practically hear the smile in her voice. "_I'll let you go now_" She laughed. "_Bye Kate_"

"Bye" I smile to myself before hanging up. I put the phone onto the counter and sighed before walking back over and plopped down on the couch again.

~0~

**Later that evening...**

"You sure this is the right place?" Sam asked cautiously. Steve gave a nod as he looked around when they were walking through a town several miles from The Lions Peaks in British Columbia, Canada. Their location was located somewhere in the North Shore Mountains.

"I analyzed the files; this is it" He told him as he kept his head down under the cap he was wearing.

"We gonna head up?" He asked. "I brought the suits" Sam told him. They had pulled a few strings with some remaining 'SHIELD' agents who had retrieved Steve's stealth suit. Sam had repaired his Falcon suit as well. Steve gave a nod again.

"Yeah, we better get going"

**Meanwhile back in the US...**

My eyes narrowed as I kept staring. Letting out a huff I crossed my arms.

I can either do this or chicken out. I know Dad would not approve of this but I should be able to make my own decisions.

This is it. I need to decide and not let Dad make my own decisions for me. He trusted me to follow the rule and I know I should. But I can't help it.

Damn pop tarts- you bring out the worst in me.

I finally grinned and grabbed the box before running back to the couch and got under a blanket. Unwrapping a cookies and cream pop tart I took a bite and sighed.

Wow that is good... That is damn good. Pop tarts what would I do without you.

My eyes went over to the clock; seeing it was almost 7:30. I sighed and wrapped the blanket around me tighter as I eyed the screen. I am so bored right now. Now that I think about it I don't know what there is to do.

Several episodes later I finally just gave up and went to my room. After getting ready with teeth brushed and such I just fell into bed and let my eyes close before I fell asleep.

~0~

**The next morning...**

"Sam!" Steve called as he threw his shield at the three men approaching. Sam turned and flew up in time for the shield to go under him and hit two of the men before it bounced off the wall and Steve ran forward and caught it. Shooting down the last man Sam landed back on the ground before meeting up with Steve in the clearing.

They had found the location and just finished taking out its population of Hydra agents. I was a series of old buildings in the side of a mountain behind The Lion Peaks.

"The Intel room is just beyond that building" Steve breathed; pointing behind Sam. He turned and gave a nod.

"I'll head there now; see what I can find. You go see if you can find Barnes" Steve gave him a nod in return before he turned and ran the opposite way towards a building and up the steps.

~0~

My eyes cracked open and I saw light peeking in between the curtains. I groaned before rolling over; kicking my covers off as I did so. Stumbling out of bed, I got dressed in down shorts and a tank top.

I made my way into the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle before walking to the door; getting my shoes on. As I was putting my hair up I waited for Dad to come out of his room.

About 30 seconds went by as I checked the clock and saw it was time to go running as usual. Huffing I walked down the hall and knocked on Dad's door.

"Dad, why aren't you hurrying like you usually do" I grumble; rubbing my eyes. It was quiet and I finally opened his door and walked in only to make an abrupt stop.

Oh-... Right... He's not here.

I huffed and shook my head before blinking.

"Wow Kate, smooth one" I mumble before closing his door as I walked back into the kitchenette/living room. Kicking my shoes off, I then went to the cupboard.

After making myself a bowl of cereal, I sat down on the couch and turned on the TV, seeing the News. My eyes locked on the screen as I listened to something about the war we were fighting over in Afghanistan. I quickly started thinking about Caleb and felt a small wave of worry hit me.

I hope he's ok. I haven't heard from him since the last time I saw him. Natasha confirmed he didn't have anything to do with SHIELD being compromised; I knew he couldn't do something like that in the first place though. I knew him like family.

Taking a bite of cereal I sighed before putting the bowl on the table as I sat back and stared at the ceiling for a moment. My mind quickly shifted over to what Sam and Dad might be up to on this 'mission'.

Glancing at the phone Dad gave me that was sitting on the coffee table I sighed before looking at the TV; trying to get my mind off what they might be doing.

~0~

Steve ran down a hall and made a sharp turn as he kept going. He looked ahead and saw someone making quick work of four Hydra agents. The man snapped the neck of one before dropped and kicked two of them and punched one; sending him flying at the opposite wall as his spine snapped and he crumbled to the ground.

Slowing down a bit Steve came to a stop, breathing somewhat heavier. Ahead of him was what he had been looking for.

"Buck" He started; letting out a breath before taking in another. Bucky turned; looking at him with a blank expression.

It was quiet as he eyed the man at the other side of the open hall; about 12 feet wide and a good 50 feet long. It was dark and dimly lit by the light shining in from the windows to Steve's right. "Do you recognize me?" He asked. Bucky didn't move as he held a gaze with unsure eyes; a gun in his hand.

Steve secured his shield on his back and took his helmet off before dropping it beside him; in hopes to help jog his memory.

"_Ca-...-ap... The-res... Rein-... Encforce-..._" The com kept cutting out a Sam's voice could be heard. Steve finally just took his ear com out and dropped it on the ground so his full attention was on his friend.

"Look... I know you're probably confused-" He took a couple steps forward and saw his grip tighten on his weapon. He glanced down before looking back up at him. He slowly lifted a hand, taking very small; slow steps forward as his finger slipped over the trigger. "I just wanna talk" He breathed.

Suddenly Bucky raised his gun and didn't hesitate to fire; making Steve flinch and cover his head slightly. Hearing a cry from behind him he jerked around seeing a man fall to the floor. Bucky had shot one of the assailants that had snuck up behind him.

He turned back to him as he lowered his gun and stared at him for a few more seconds.

"You're welcome" Bucky mumbled before running down the fall to his left. Steve had a moment of just staring at where his friend was standing before he took off in a run after him. As he was about to turn down the hall Bucky went down he heard someone behind him.

"Cap!" Sam yelled; making him turn. "They brought reinforcements, they're sending in an air strike in the next 30 seconds" He told him quickly. Steve hesitated and looked down the hall Bucky went down before looking back at Sam. Before he could respond there was a boom and the building began to shake before it started to collapse.

~0~

The building had mostly collapsed. The basic structure of it was left but it was still dark; smoke and ash covering the sky making a medium grey.

The rubble began to shift slightly and a shield was pushed out the side of a rubble pile, followed by Steve seconds later. He coughed several times as he was on his side slightly.

"Sam?" He coughed before trying to turn and look around. He spotted Sam several yards away stuck under a wooden beam.

Trying to take in a deep breath he clenched his teeth slightly before trying to pull himself out of the rubble, only to give up seconds later. Sifting through the rubble he felt his hand grab the phone on his belt. Quickly dialing the number there was a sudden hissing noise as his head jerked around and he saw the floor crack and a gas started to seep out.

"Oh god" He breathed, a look of worry on his face. "Sam!" He called over, but his friend was out cold. Bringing his attention back to the phone he waited anxiously. "C'mon Kate, pick up, pick up, pick up" he breathed before coughing again as the natural gasses under the building started to cover the ground in a flog-like layer.

...

My fingers tapped against my leg as I was listening to The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy on my phone.

I was sitting in bed right now... I never thought this level of boredom was possible. I let out a breath as the song ended and Light Em Up started to play.

My eyes turned away and my attention caught that of a ringing. I sighed and half asleep got up and walked into the kitchen; tossing my phone onto the counter I picked the phone up and put it to my ear.

"Hello?" I mumble, putting a hand through my hair. I waited a few seconds before my face grew concerned as I took the phone away and looked at it... Realizing it wasn't the one ringing. I let out a shaky breath when my eyes darted over to the couch; seeing the phone Dad gave me ringing.

I ran over and picked it up, a look of worry on my face.

"Dad? Are you ok?" I spoke up quickly. There wasn't a response for a few seconds. "Da-"

"_Kate?_" I suddenly heard his voice.

"Dad I'm here, are you guys ok?" I spoke up; feeling my voice get a bit shaky.

"_Kate? Can you hear me?_" He asked. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Yeah Dad, I can hear you" I spoke up.

"_Kate if you can he-ear me we could really use that he-elp right now, honey_" He coughed several times. He sounded a bit worried.

"Wha-..." I stopped. Why couldn't he hear me?!

...

Steve quickly looked over when he heard a noise and Sam started coming to.

"Sam you good?" He called over. His eyes went over to him as he looked down; seeing a wooden support beam fell on him.

"Yeah Cap I'm good, I think something got me in the side though" He grunted before trying to pull himself out from under it.

Steve quickly drew his attention back to the phone. He looked at it and realized his receiving end was damaged, he couldn't even hear Kate if she was on the other end.

"Ok, Kate? I don't know if you can hear me right now but if you're listening our location is in the North Shore Mountains, just beyond The-"

...

"_The Lions Peaks, in British Columbia._" I listened carefully to Dad's instructions on the location. "_It's a series of old buildin-ings, look for a lot of smoke_" I nodded to myself; taking it in. He sounded worried, tired, and dare I say it- in a hell of a lot of pain, which isn't a normal for him.

Suddenly there was a bang on the other side of the phone that made me jump.

"_B-Be careful_" He coughed. "_I-… I know you think- That I don't trust you Kate, but I do, ok? I trust you with this_" I felt my eyes tear up just barely as I listened to him. I could hear regret in his voice. I was getting more and more worried; knowing that he was actually in some trouble and was trusting me with both his and Sam's life. "_I love -y-_" The phone suddenly cut off and I waited.

"Dad?" I spoke up. It was too late, the line was dead.

I dropped the phone and was up and out the door before it hit the ground as I ran down the hall.

My eyes locked on the window at the end as I ran faster. I jumped and curled into a ball as I smashed through the window and began to fall. Balancing myself as I fell, I finally shifted and took higher to the sky as I started north.

**Hope you liked that chapter :) It will continue soon in the next chapter, please review if you liked it so far :D **


	81. (sequel) Chapter 19

Chapter 81

**Hey peoples! :D This is quite a long chapter… a very long chapter-… but I couldn't help myself. I hope you like it! :D **

"Cap I don't think she got the message!" Sam grunted as he punched out a guy, not before crying out as his hand shot down to his side where he was injured, blood oozed down over his suit and stained the snow and rubble.

"She got it!" Steve shot back as he threw his shield at two men. Catching it he stumbled slightly on the leg he had lost most feeling in after the building collapsed on them.

More and more men were coming and outnumbering them.

"You told her where we were? Are you even sure she knows what to do?" Sam asked. "She's just a kid Rogers" He reminds him.

"Sam I'd trust her with my life ok?" He snapped at him. "She'll be here" He made clear as he rolled out of the way of a grenade that went off.

~0~

My eyes skimmed the sky line as I looked for any signs of the coming mountains. I was above the clouds at the moment.

Flying down more and more I finally saw where I was heading, and there was a trail of smoke climbing into the sky far out.

I roared out before picking up speed as u flew towards it.

I was in my dragon form at the moment. I gotta admit, besides from a German shepherd (which is my favorite shift, I'm really comparable with that animal) this is my favorite shift I think. I'm starting to be able to hold onto it for longer and keep myself calm and present in situations like this one.

"Fire!" I heard and jerked my head around to see two Helicopters following me. Hearing the bullets start to race across the sky I roared when I felt some prick my wings; turning to the left I flew a half circle before making a U-turn straight down as they launched missiles.

Hearing them quickly catch up to me I turned so my belly was facing up and I felt the burning sensation race through me before I shot fire at them. They instantly exploded and the wave of energy knocked me slightly before I quickly regained myself in the sky and continued flying.

...

Steve's head shot up as a loud boom was heard from some kind of missile.

"Did you hear that?" He smirked; looking over at Sam. Sam looked to the sky and laughed before shaking his head.

...

I flew down closer; seeing a series of buildings like Dad said. Hearing that similar chopping sound behind me I turned back to see the copters gaining. Pushing my wings out, I shot back and went right between them and back behind them.

They quickly took evasive maneuvers and I went after one as I began catching up.

The gunner on one side turned the gun back and began firing at me. I went down before flying up under them. He cried out as I crashed into it and quickly shot fire into the copter. Grabbing it with both front talons I stuck my head inside and up to the cockpit before biting on the pilot; making him cry out for a moment before I quickly snapped his spine with my mouth.

Throwing his limp body out I bit the tail off the chopper as it began to fall towards the ground.

"We got it in our sights!" I turned and roared at the coming copter before I flew towards it and rammed it head on; smashing the glass with my talons I spewed fire into it; engulfing the whole thing before it exploded around me.

...

Both Sam and Steve looked up as several explosions were taking place and two helicopters were coming towards them in flames.

"Run!" Steve yelled before they both ran towards the rubble for cover. Sam jumped over; rolling to the side as Steve slid behind it as the two smashed into the ground; creating a wave of fire that leaped into the sky. The covered their heads as the wave of flame went over their heads and hit the building behind them.

...

I flew down closer to the ground; my wings tucked close to my sides as I picked up speed before I started to come parallel to the ground.

Letting out a roar I finally landed in a run as I came into a clearing of the buildings along the mountain. Coming down to a walk I was cautiously making my way around, seeing flames and rubble everywhere. A growl rose in my throat as I felt my expression darken as it was too quiet.

Turning suddenly with a roar I saw two people pop out from behind some rubble.

"It's just us Kate" Sam called over. I felt my expression brighten and I ran over to them; coming to an abrupt stop in front of them.

"Thanks for hurrying Kate" Dad breathed a laugh. He looked pretty beat. I gave him a friendly look before he took a step forward. He immediately stumbled and I quickly put my head out and kept him from falling forward. Slowly pushing him with my muzzle back to his feet i gave him a bit of a worried look as I looked at Sam; seeing him holding his side.

If I had gotten here a minute later i wonder what would have happened.

"You ok?" Dad asked; letting Sam help him get a steady stance so he didn't fall again. Christ- Shouldn't I be asking that question.

I gave him a nod before stretching my wings out.

A suddenly crash made me jerk around; immediate going on the offensive as I roared at whatever was behind us. My eyes locked on two tanks and plenty of men to literally take down Sam and Dad in the condition there in now.

"Kate let's go" Dad says before trying to walk towards me but I immediately roared at him with a deadly look. He stopped abruptly and didn't say anything for a moment.

I looked at him for a long moment and I knew he knew what I was implying. He huffed and nodded.

"Be careful." he made clear. I gave a nod and managed to smirk while still in this form before I turned and roared at the coming enemy which is Hydra.

And yes- I'm gonna beat the shit out of these people that did and are still trying to hurt my family.

Sam and Dad were helping each other to the nearest building in tact while I stood my ground as the men coming increased and the tanks got closer.

I roared out in a challenging manner as I stood my ground before I started walking towards them.

"Open fire!" I heard them yell. I just barely caught Dad stopping to look back at me as I was already roaring and running at them.

...

"You sure we can't just-" Steve started; watching Kate as she didn't hesitate to run at the coming Hydra squadron.

"We can barely walk as it is Cap- we need to just let Kate do her thing and get out of here so we don't get in her way" Sam told him as they were helping. Steve merely rolled his eyes as they ducked and a Hydra agent's body flew over them-... On fire, and hit the wall.

...

I heard several cries as I roared and fire engulfed the tank in front of me and I jumped onto it. Grabbing the barrel of the tank with my talons I roared as I felt the metal bend as I ripped it off the top before shooting fire into the interior.

Suddenly I heard a fire of a gun and I turned in time to see something flying at me and there was a boom as I roared and fell from tank and to the ground. Gritting my teeth I looked at my wing seeing that I was hit by a grenade launcher.

I slowly turned to my left and looked around the tank; seeing one lone guy holding the grenade launcher and looking at me with wide eyes. I growled low in my throat as he dropped the grenade launcher.

...

Steve and Sam heard a scream and a cry from a Hydra agent along with a furious roar from Kate.

"What if we just-" Steve started; looking back again.

"Steve- focus." Sam smirked.

"Right" Steve nodded to himself as he looked down. They made their way around the building and along the cliff, out of the way of the firefight.

...

I bit down harder and heard a snap as the body went limp in my mouth. Throwing it to the side I ran towards the next tank. Roaring I dodged the shell they fired and rammed into the front of it; using my body to push it back several feet before flipping it over.

I looked to the side and heard the familiar chopping noise and I turned to see a helicopter coming in.

I gritted my teeth in anger before roaring up at it; waiting for them to open fire.

But it never came. I watched as it was flying towards something to the right on the other side of the buildings. My eyes widened and I roared out loudly again in rage before running towards where it was going.

...

"You know- I think I owe you an apology" Sam spoke up. Steve glanced at him before looking ahead.

"Why do you say that?"

"I didn't think Kate would actually make it here" Sam explains. "And here we are with her saving our asses" He tries to hold back a laugh.

"Well I'd go ahead and tell her that yourself" Steve breathed a laugh.

They were getting farther away and most of the sounds had died down when there was a sudden roar. Quickly turning, they both saw Kate running towards them.

"Kate?-" Steve started in confusion when she grabbed them and rolled when there was a sudden explosion and Kate came to a stop with a roar.

They were just feet away from the cliffs edge as she looked back up and roared at the coming chopper as it was getting lower to the ground.

Gritting her teeth she shot fire up at it but the chopper veered out of the way; managing to avoid the coming flames.

Kate turned; looking over at Sam and Steve before roaring at them to keep moving.

"Kate-!" Steve yelled over when suddenly a second helicopter came up from the cliff behind them. She turned in time to jump and bit down onto the side landing bar before turning and swung it around. Just as she let go it fired a missile.

Sam and Steve turned and watched as the missile flew through the air- over the buildings and behind them and exploded against the mountain's side with an echoing boom.

...

Wow- this is really waring me out.

I jumped as high as I could and managed to bit down onto the landing bar of the second chopper; dragging down I pulled it and swung it against a nearby building. Pinning it against the wall I didn't see the remaining bar as the chopper was still spinning. I looked in time for the bar to swing around and hit me in the face. I roared loudly as the force knocked me back and I rolled to the side and slipped over the edge. Gripping the side I quickly pulled myself back up and ran towards it again before ramming it farther against the wall before shooting fire into the cockpit. There were several cries before it exploded and I stumbled back from the impact.

It got quiet and I looked around before looking over at Sam and Dad. There was now a fine slash down the side of my face form my forehead down to my chin. Perfect.

"You ok?" Dad asked in a worried tone before limping over to me. I walked over and lowered my head before giving a small nod.

"You're wing's hurt pretty bad too Kate, you sure you're ok?" Sam asked; walking over more normally- although he was holding his side.

I just gave another nod and I was about to shift back when there was a crack that echoed loudly throughout the mountains.

I tensed and looked around for enemies but there were none.

Eventually all eyes went up the mountains and the snow began to shift before it all collapsed.

"Kate-..." Dad started slowly. The snow started to come down faster before the entire covering on the mountains above us was barreling toward us in a ginormous Avalanche.

My eyes widened as I bit down on the back of Dad's shield as it was attached to his back before I roared at Sam through gritted teeth and we started running along the cliff side- closer to where the mountain started down to a road.

Dad could barely walk and we don't have the time so I'm improvising.

Sam wasn't very fast so finally growled and came to a stop and set Dad back down who I won't lie- looked a little caught off guard.

"Kate- get out of here ok?" Dad said quickly. "We'll hide in one of these buildings- you circle the area, see if there's anyo-" I cut him off with a roar before quickly looking around.

I didn't have time to think of another plan as there was suddenly a wave of snow coming at us. I quickly looked back and just bit down on the back of Sam's suit before turning to Dad when I got rammed in the side by the icy snow and I roared as I slipped over the edge; my talons dug into the rock as I clung to it. My eyes looked around for Dad and I just barely saw him disappear over the edge.

Letting go of the rock I started to fly straight down after him. My wings tucked close into my sides as the wind began to whistle with the high speed I was going.

"Kate!" Sam yelled as we were getting close to the ground. I narrowed my eyes before pushing the extra few feet and managed to grab him with my front left arm by his leg that wasn't injured. I leveled out and dodged the falling icy snow mounds before looking down at Dad. We were going fast enough that he was almost parallel with the surface.

He was looking down below him before he looked up at me with a smirk. I smiled before making it a bit higher above the cliff we were on to a second one on the other side of the ravine. I tried to land softly but my wing quickly gave out and I turned on my side to avoid hitting Dad as I roared and rolled to a stop.

"Ow" Sam grumbled as he rubbed his head. I struggled to push myself up and I merely glanced to the side as Dad was quickly coming over.

"You ok?" He leaned over; looking me in the eye with a serious expression. I growled a reply and rolled my eyes before slowly pushing myself up to my feet. "Mind shifting back for a second" I could now hear the humor in his voice. I let out a breath before nodding. He limped back a step or two and I shook my wings off as tons of snow fell off me. Taking a deep breath shifted back and let me tell you- I've never been so freaking cold in my life.

I immediately crossed my arms tightly as I was wearing a t shirt and some jeans and my combat boots.

"Oh my god Kate what are you wearing?!" He started; looking at me in shock. My teeth chattered as I looked at him.

"You- You sounded hurt and I thought I should hurry" My teeth were chattering without my permission as i clenched my jaw.

"Come here" He sighed before taking a step forward. I walked over and he wrapped his arms around me in a hug.

"Sam" He turned. I hid my face against Dad's chest as he was still hugging me pretty tightly to keep me somewhat warm.

"I'll see if we can get in one of these buildings" He says. We started walking and Dad was trying to contain his limp as he kept an arm around me.

We walked around the building and Sam took a deep breath before ramming it with his shoulder. The door swung open and he nodded to us to go inside. Dad gave a nod back and looked down at me before we walked inside. It was just an empty room basically but there was a ledge above that was about half the room like a loft- and beams holding the structure up along with cross beams to one side. I looked around; seeing that there wasn't any furniture- but at least it was dry. There was firewood piled up at the far left corner too.

"Got any matches?" Dad asked; turning back to Sam. I looked also and Sam sighed before shaking his head.

"Anything I had on me went over the cliff" He says. "And I don't think Kate wants to go looking for that" He smirks. I roll my eyes before looking down.

"I can probably start one" I say; looking up at Dad. He looked down at me and exchanged a glance with Sam.

"You sure?" He asked. I nodded before looking over at the fire wood.

By the time we got the fire wood over to a dry patched area of dirt Dad was already sitting down against the wall. He didn't look alright. I helped Sam move the last piece of firewood and looked over at Dad before my eyes went back to the wood pile.

"Ok... um" I thought for a moment about the smallest dragon I could turn into but I couldn't think of anything. The usual dragon I would shift into was too big. I finally took a deep breath before thinking and concentrating. I slowly opened up my fist and I saw a small flame emerge. Sam's eyes widened as I put my hand under the wood and watched the flame ignite the wood.

"How'd you do that?" He asked. I looked over before shrugging.

"I can use my shifting ability to hold onto certain traits of previous animals I shift into; in this case- the power to manipulate and create fire" I shrug. "It's extremely rare but I can sometimes manage to pull it off" I explain. "Like if I need an extra boost of adenine, strength, smell, whatever the situation requires" I say before looking back at Dad seeing he was almost out.

"What happened back there?" I asked hesitantly. Sam glanced at Dad before looking at me.

"We were tracking down some-... Information" He says. I nod before looking down.

"Did you find it?" I asked slowly. He looked at me for a moment and glanced at Dad again before looking at me. I hid my cautious expression.

The way he keeps glancing at Dad- like he's looking for approval to answer my question.

"Yes, we had it but we lost it again when the building collapsed with the air attack." He explains. I nod before looking down at the fire again. I was still really cold but I don't think I can build up the strength to shift again.

The last time I shifted into a dragon... Was when SHIELD fell. And that was for less than a minute. I just shifted for a several hour flight up the continent for hundreds of miles and then engaged in a major fight with Hydra alone. I honestly don't know how I'm not unconscious right now.

"I'll be right back" I say before getting up.

"Whoa- wait just a minute" Sam grunts as he struggles to get to his feet. I give him a 'really?' Look.

"Both of you are hurt and if we're supposed to survive the night like this you'll need some bandages at the least" I tell him. "I'm just gonna look in the other buildings, I'll be right back" I say before glancing at Dad and back at him. "Please?" I asked. "Dad won't let me go- I know that for sure but I have a feeling you will" I say with a small smirk. He didn't look in anyway in my favor.

"Why would you say that?" He crossed his arms. "He'll kill both of us if he finds out I let you go out there by yourself" He says.

"Well let's hope he doesn't find out" I shrug before grinning and walked for the door. Sam huffed and threw a hand in the air. I caught the smirk he showed as I slipped out the door and out into the snowy winds.

~0~

Almost an hour later I slipped back inside with a small pack; seeing both Sam and Dad out cold against the wall. I chuckled slightly before quietly kneeling by the fire. I shifted into a snow leopard when looking around. I managed to find some gauze in an abandoned medical building. They also had some disinfectant so that's good. No food though, unfortunately.

I set the pack down and fished out what supplies I was able to find.

"What's that." I heard the dead serious tone and I slowly looked to my right and saw Dad staring me down with one of his looks. My eyes shot from the pack and then back to him.

"Um" I cleared my throat. "Medical supplies...?" I say with an innocent smile. He clenched his jaw and glanced at the door before looking back at me.

"You went out there." He states.

"Dad it was fine-" I sigh.

"You do realize you could've gotten shot" He says.

"Really?" I deadpan; looking at him. "Do you realize I was the one out there earlier blowing Helicopters out of the sky and flipping tanks?" I smirk. He raises an eyebrow before finally nodded.

"Alright, fair point" He says. I nod in agreement. Damn right it's a fair point.

I pulled out the rest before tossing the pack to the side and sat by the fire.

My eyes were focused on the flames as their crackled in the wood pile. It was quiet and I could hear the cold, snowy winds outside.

"It's warmer over here" Dad says. I looked over before my eyes glanced at the fire.

"Is that an invitation?" I state with a small laugh. He stares at me for a moment before smirking just barely.

"No it's an order, get over here" He says before pointing to the spot next to him.

I rolled my eyes and got up before walking over and sat down next to him.

"Another minute in this cold and you'll end up like me" He says with a chuckle before wrapping an arm around me. I laughed before rolling my eyes.

"Except I won't be a Capsicle" I say back. He thinks for a moment before looking down at me.

"...A Katsicle" He says finally. We started laughing and might have disturbed Sam as he shifted and looked at us.

"What's so funny" He grumbled.

"Nothing" I giggle slightly. Sam shrugged before nodding. He looked at the supplies and his eyes widened before he looked back at me.

"You found medical supplies?" He asked. I nod.

"I know it's not much, it's all I could find" I sigh in disappointment.

"No, no Kate. This is great" He says as he was already looking through it. "You're literally a lifesaver." He chuckles. I shrug smugly.

"That's how I roll" I say. Dad rolled his eyes before looking back at Sam.

~0~

Later on, Sam had patched himself up and bandaged Dad's leg tightly. He didn't know what was wrong, but at the moment we didn't have the supplies to dig into Dad's leg to find out. Otherwise we were all fine. I had a small cut on my arm and a nice big scrape on my side but I didn't tell them for obvious reasons. The gash down my face couldn't really be bandaged up but Sam did insist he clean it out. It hurt like hell. I need stitches and we don't unfortunately have that right now.

"I didn't get a chance to thank you" I heard Dad speak up. I opened my eyes as I was leaning against him and he still had an arm wrapped around me.

"Huh?" I grumble; half asleep. The workout I just did in that shift really warred me out.

"For coming" He says. "We would probably be dead right about now if you hadn't come when you did" He explained further; looking down at me. I stared at him for a moment.

"All those damn times you said I don't need to worry and look where we are now" I state. He huffs and looks at the ground with a straight face; desperately trying to hide a smirk. "Look who's saving your ass now" I laugh.

"Watch the mouth" He says quietly before tightening the grip he had on me and I hugged him. He rested his head on mine and let out a breath.

"Plus... You know" I start and swallow. "You kind already almost got yourself killed by Hydra. Least I could do was make sure you didn't get yourself in that position again" I try to say lightly and humorously. But he took his head off mine and looked down at me with a bit of a confused and-... Almost hurt look. I swallowed and looked down before resting my head against him and closed my eyes quickly to avoid the look he was giving me.

It was quite for almost a minute and I waited for him to speak up. But I heard him let out a breath before he rested his back against the wall. My eyes opened slowly and I felt bad. Did he take offense to that? I didn't mean for it to be offensive- I don't see what part was offensive to be honest.

Letting out a quiet breath I finally started to relax before I closed my eyes again.

~0~

"Do you think you can walk?" Sam asked Steve. He looked over at Sam before letting out a breath. It was several hours later and just about dark outside.

"Yeah, no problem" He says before looking around the building they were in. "We'll have to head out at sun up; don't want to attract any unwanted attention" Steve adds.

Sam gave a nod before looking into the fire.

"She seems to be holding up alright" He nods to Kate. Steve looks at him before his eyes went down to Kate who was out cold against him as he was trying to keep her somewhat close and warmer since she was in a t-shirt.

"Yeah, thankfully" He says before smiling down at her. It was quiet for a few seconds before he spoke up again. "I honestly don't know what I'd do without her" Sam looked at the fire briefly again before looking back over at him.

"I never did get the long version of how..." He trails off. "All this" Sam waves a hand at the two of them. "Came about" He chuckled. Steve smirked before looking down at Kate.

"Looks like we got some time to pass, so I guess I can start from the beginning" He sighs before sitting up a hair. Sam was sitting up to Steve's left as he waited for him to begin.

"Ok," He sighed before looking down. He finally looked up seconds later. "This might take a while" He smirks. Sam laughs.

"Hey- I'm not going anywhere" He says; putting his hands up. Steve took that as a cue to start talking so he nodded and cleared his throat.

"It was a while after the Battle of New York that SHIELD tracked down an organization that was against any-..." He thought carefully for a moment. "People who had abilities" He explained. Sam nodded before he continued. "I was sent along with Clint, Natasha, and Coulson to infiltrate the warehouse- evacuate all the hostages and get them on SHIELF evacuation vehicles" Steve told him. "So after the team infiltrated the base, we started locking down the area to see how many people we could find-..." He continued but stopped briefly; his expression darkened.

Sam saw his look change and cleared his throat to snap Steve out of his thoughts.

"There were all kids" He finally says; looking over at Sam. "...I still remember when I found Kate" He says before letting out a breath, then clenched his jaw briefly. Sam examined him for a moment and started to see how the topic really put him on edge. "She was locked in a room at the back of the warehouse. Her clothes were practically in rags and she was covered in her own blood" He states before looking at Sam again. "It took me about 15 minutes to get her to except the water I tried giving her and about 45 minutes for me to get anywhere near her" It was clear he was lost in the memory and no longer looking up at Sam after every few seconds. "Every move I made she would flinch-... like I was gonna hurt her" He furrowed his eyebrows briefly before letting out a breath. It got quiet from him for a moment and Sam spoke up to break the silence.

"How long was she there?" He asked. Steve didn't look at him for several seconds.

"8 months" He finally met his eyes.

"8 months?" Sam repeated and Steve gave a nod.

"From the data SHIELD took, most of the kids didn't survive half as long as she did" He says before looking down at her. "She's definitely a fighter" He mumbled before smiling just barely as he looked down at her.

Sam smiled before nodding as he used a stick to poke at the fire before he put it down.

"Anyway" Steve sighed before continuing. "It took some time but we eventually got Kate out and back to the Helicarrier" He says. "We had managed to evac 23 kids not counting Kate" He says.

"That's all?" Sam furrowed his eyebrows. Steve didn't say anything briefly.

"The rest were dead" He states. Sam closed his mouth and gave a small nod. "We managed to find the families of all the remaining kids expect Kate's" He kept going. "So Coulson figured we should sedate her and run some tests to find out her identity and get her- you know, cleaned up and somewhat back to health.-"

"Let me guess, you weren't-" Sam started with a smirk.

"No Sam, I wasn't exactly for having her sedated after everything she'd been through that day" He breathed a laugh. Sam shrugged an agreement.

"Seems like a Cap-type approach" He argues. Steve merely rolled his eyes before continuing again.

"After they did the examination, there weren't any results. Any proof of her existence had been- wiped off the face of the earth." He says and then hesitates. "And I then might have broken protocol and went into her room to talk to her and bribe her for answers" He furrowed his own eyebrows as he remembered back to that- as if he wasn't sure why he did that without Coulson's approval.

"Captain America breaking protocol" Sam shook his head in a scolding tone. Steve huffed with another roll of his eyes. "Wait- you bribed her?" He questioned. Steve hesitated before giving a slow nod. "...with what?"

"...a Lollipop" He looks down. Sam started laughing.

"So let me get this straight- you broke protocol to talk to this girl and interrogate her by bribing her with a cherry pop?" Sam asked with an amused face.

"Watermelon." He made clear. "It was watermelon"

"You remember the God damn lollipop flavor!?" Sam laughed even louder.

"As a matter a fact I do. Plus- fast forward a month or too she told me that was actually her favorite flavor" He points out.

"Alright then, continue" He smirks.

Steve continued to tell Sam about how her parents had been killed around the time before Kate was rescued, and how she came to live at the tower until she trusted people more and could be found a home.

He explained how when Kate thought they were lying to her and just trying to figure out her ability when she ran away from the tower. And that they were just using their friendship to get information out of her. And that she ended up getting attacked my some wild dogs on the streets.

"How'd that make you feel?" Sam asked and Steve huffed.

"...Like I had just kicked a puppy" He states; earning a laugh from Sam.

He eventually got to the part where Kate began using her ability in secret to help people. And then to the part when she told them directly what her ability was.

Eventually getting to the time when Kate opened up to him about her brother James who was in the army.

"Would you look at that" Sam looked interested. "You both had a James that was in the army and was a big brother figure" He laughs. Steve smirks and then his eyes widened and he realized that.

"I-... I never thought of it like that before" He stated.

"More alike than you thought it seems" Sam points out. He nods before continuing on.

He explains that soon after she was sent off to a foster home.

"How long was she there before you obviously bought her back" He asked.

"I didn't buy her back" Steve laughs.

"Whatever- same thing"

"About a month later I ran into her down in DC actually, in the Holocaust Museum"

"Figures" Sam says; earning an eye roll from Steve. "Your exhibit in the Smithsonian was still under construction?"

"It hadn't even been built or anything yet" He says. "Yeah so as caught up and she actually persuaded me to let her sneak out of the Foster home and have us go on a run so I could catch her up on what's been happening" He says quickly and almost under his breath but Sam caught it and started laughing.

"This girl just brings out the worst in you doesn't she?" He laughed to himself.

"Um, no" He says back.

Continuing from there Steve talked about how Pepper had worked out how they could all adopt her as a 'family' per-say. Then he added how one of them would have to take further responsibility over Kate as a "guardian."

"Yeah, and they failed to mention that me being her guardian actually meant I was her adopted farther" Steve adds.

"Really" Sam says with a hint of interest. Steve nodded.

"All the while I thought we had mostly equal responsibility over her- they only had rights to take care of her if I-..." He trails off. Sam didn't say anything. "You know- if something were to happen to me, that's when they had the responsibility over Kate..." Steve then smiles. "I was so nervous" He breathes a laugh. "I was worried I wouldn't be able to take care of her or treat her as if she was my own"

"I think by now we all know you're more than capable of pulling off the father figure role" Sam smirks. Steve shrugs but looks thankful for the comment. "How'd she take it? The adoption" Sam asked.

"She was pretty happy, including some happy tears" He laughs. Sam nods.

"Seems about right. I'd probably do the same if I found out the Avengers adopted me" He shrugs an agreement with himself. Steve smirks before continuing once again.

He eventually got through how Kate found out about her parents and they found out how she got her ability. Soon he came to the fact that Kate wanted to become a SHIELD agent.

"How long did it take for her to break you for that?" He smirks.

"What makes you think that?" Steve furrowed his eyebrows and demanded.

"Of all people I can see you being hesitant to let her join" He shrugs. Steve looked down before sighing.

"It was either SHIELD or the Army" He finally explains. Sam looked serious now. Steve shook his head before looking down at Kate who was still asleep. "I couldn't bear the thought of her getting hurt or killed over there. At least if she's here I can keep an eye on her" He says. "And after she lost her brother to war-..." He trails off. "She does have a friend over there now actually"

"Really" Sam cleared his throat.

"Caleb Mack, he was a friend of her brother's"

"She close to him?" Sam asked. Steve gave him a nod in reply.

He eventually explained how Kate advanced quickly through SHIELD and also about the fight they had about her going on missions.

"What kind of mission was it?"

"An easy one" Steve deadpans. "If I had trusted her with that she wouldn't have gotten shot-"

"Shot?" Sam looked at him. Steve nodded.

"The people that kidnapped Kate started to attack the tower, me and Natasha were covering the bridge and I didn't know she wasn't out of the tower yet" He says; letting out a breath. "One of the men that kidnapped her and tortured her for the several months she was captive was there" He adds, clenching his jaw. "...She was chasing after him and stupid me wasn't watching my back. So once Natasha warned me of an incoming enemy from behind me I turned in time to see Kate take him down, before she jumped in front of the bullet he was about to put in my back." He finishes with a sharp huff.

Sam was quiet for a while as he was looking at Kate before his eyes went over to the fire.

"She still has no idea that she probably saved my life that day" Steve's eyes were lost in the fire as the flames were dying out somewhat but it was still going strong.

"She's got your heart. That's for sure"

"Excuse me?" Steve furrowed his eyebrows.

"She thinks about others before thinking about herself" He says back. "I'm starting to think it rubs off you and onto other people. I almost found myself helping someone cross the street yesterday and I'm blaming you for it" Sam laughed, causing Steve to also laugh.

He then proceeded to explain how Kate was in a coma and she woke up from it almost half a year later. Eventually getting to the time when there was a mishap in at the SHIELD academy.

"A toddler? Kate?" He laughed. Steve nodded and chuckled. "Was she cute at that age?"

"The cutest kid I'd ever seen, especially when she did something wrong- she would hold her hands behind her back and scrunch up her nose and give me this adorable smile. It was hard to stay mad at her" He smiles; thinking back for a moment.

"What happened after that?" Sam asked; getting really into the story Steve was telling.

"Ok, Uh" He got focused again. "Well there was an attack in Central Park, Pepper was in the tower with Kate while Me, Natasha, and Clint were evacuating the pedestrians and trying to get rid of any enemies. It turned out to be a distraction and turns out these people that were from the warehouse were after Kate again and attacked the tower while we were busy" Steve explains. "Yeah so... Long story short- Kate somehow managed to turn back into her normal self and saved Pepper's life" He smiled.

"Lots of life saving in this story of yours I see" Sam chuckles. Steve nodded as if to say 'what else would there be?' before he continued.

Sometime later Steve further explained how Kate started got to go on her first mission after a small fight and a grounding. Adding in how there was some misunderstanding about her name being Kate Rogers instead of Kate Sanders.

"So that's how the whole last name change came about" Sam laughs. Steve smirks and shrugged.

"She wanted to" He says back. "Yeah, anyway- over time she eventually started going on a lot more missions. That's when I got the call from Fury confirming he wanted me down in DC" Steve says. "We were down there for a few months and Kate grew into an amazing agent. Natasha was really impressed by her skills and how quickly she advanced" He says. "She beat Clint several times in sparring matches" He says; sounding impressed as he looked at Sam.

"What about Nat?" Sam asked. Steve laughed.

"Not yet- but Natasha says she might get there one day..." He trials off with a chuckle. Sam poked at the fire again to keep it going before looking back over at Steve. "Eventually the time came when we were running that morning, and ran into you" Steve looks over at him. "And the rest-... Well... You know the rest of what happened" Steve shrugs before looking down at Kate.

"Wow" Was all Sam said.

"Yeah I'm starting to think the same thing now that I think about it thoroughly" Steve furrowed his eyebrows with a smirk.

"Kid's had quite a life the last year or so" Steve nodded in agreement before it got quiet.

"...would you change anything that's happened?" Sam asked slowly. Steve looked over at him and found himself not able to answer just yet. Thinking over everything- what event led to what and how certain events affected them.

"No" He finally said quietly. "I wouldn't" He added before looking down. Sam smirked before nodding. It got quiet again before both their gazes got lost in the fire.

**Wow. That was a long chapter XD I was going to split it into two chapters but I decided against it, so….. Yeah! :) I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, please review if you liked it or have any requests :D **


	82. (sequel) Chapter 20

Chapter 82

**Hey everyone! :D Next chapter is here! I did take into account about the requests for longer chapters. I will definitely get right on that- but it may take a bit longer for me to update since they will be longer. School (and now holiday break) is keeping me surprisingly very busy so I'm trying my best to update as much as possible :) I hope you like this chapter and please review if you liked it or have more requests!**

I felt something on my arm and I took a deep breath and rolled over a bit onto my right side.

"Kate" I hear Dad. Wait- why the hell am I freezing?

My eyes cracked open and they went up to see Dad looking down at me. I looked around, seeing that I was slouched against his side and he still had an arm wrapped around me.

"Morning sleepy head" He smiled and kissed my forehead.

"Mmph" I grumbled and closed my eyes again.

"Yeah I know, but we kinda have to get a move on" He chuckles and sat up a bit; pushing me along with him. I groaned and sat up before looking around.

"Where'd Sam go" I asked quickly; waking up more as I looked back at Dad. He looked at me and then around the room.

"He ran out to look for more supplies and such" He shrugged before using a ledge on the wall to pull himself to his feet. I watched him briefly and swallowed as he got his balance and sighed before trying to put some weight on the leg Sam bandaged up last night.

My eyes shot over to the door when I heard a bang and I was on my feet in an instant and shifted into a wolf.

"Easy Kate!" Sam blurted out as he stuck his head inside. "Don't attack me please" He laughed. I felt my fur that was bristled start to flatten back down onto my back as I dropped my tense stance and sat down next to the fire.

"Any luck?" Dad asked. I looked over at Dad and then Sam before my eyes went to the fire.

"Nope" He gave a somewhat sarcastic laugh. "Canada isn't in our favor right now" He grumbled before leaning against the wall.

"Kate, how long did it take you to get here?" Dad asked me. My eyes went over to him and I hesitated before shifting back into my normal human form.

"Uh, I dunno- like several hours. I did kinda have to fly up the coast" I say. Dad nodded before sighing. My eyes went back to the fire as I was sitting and my knees were up to my chest. I sighed and looked around again.

So far the odds are pretty against us. No one knows that we're in trouble. Heck, no one is probably wondering in the first place.

"Wait-" I started; thinking back for a moment. "I talked to Pepper the day you guys left" I looked between them. "If she ended up calling again after I left then maybe she'll think something went wrong" I suggest, looking a bit hopeful. They were both quiet for several seconds.

"Let's hope so" Dad gave me a smile. I looked at him for a moment before smiling back and then looked down. Yeah, he's not very hopeful- I can tell.

Suddenly there was a bang outside. We all flinched and looked to the door when there were voices.

"Up in the loft!" Dad whisper shouted. We all quickly got up and made out way over to the ladder. Sam climbed up and I did too. Dad was about to when he looked down at his leg and at me before looking at Sam. He took one step onto the ladder before reaching for the next part.

"-" I opened my mouth to speak up when the door suddenly shook and Dad got back down and hid in the corner behind the door before Sam pulled me farther back and out of view as we hid in the loft. I struggled for a moment and peaked over the edge as it was dead silent.

The man took a few steps in with his gun in hand and looked around.

My eyes were locked with Dad's as he was standing still behind the shadow of the door. His shield was leaning against the wall just out of reach but still hidden from view of the Hydra agent.

I saw him take a very small step to the side and lean out to get it. The man turned slightly, making everyone flinch as Dad quickly hid back behind the door. He walked in further and his eyes started to trail up. Before I could realize that he was looking dead at me his opened his mouth to yell. As quickly as I realized it Dad quickly pulled the Hydra agent into a head lock before he could utter a syllable. Seconds later he adjusted his hold and snapped his neck. The body went limp and Dad quickly set him back behind the door before closing it.

Sam climbed down and I followed before we quickly got ready to go.

"We'll most likely be making a run for it..." Sam trails off and Dad gave him a nod.

"You won't make it more than 20 feet without being seen" I make clear, looking at Dad.

"Maybe we can distract them" Sam suggests. I looked at him and he looked at me. Dad saw us exchanging looks and immediately shook his head.

"No."

"Yes." I say right back.

"I'm not letting you go out there again, you got hurt last time" He makes clear. I blinked a few times before looking at Sam who just shrugged.

"I can heal quickly to ya know" I mutter. "That dragon form gives me some extra healing abilities"

"But still-"

"If Kate kept them busy we may also be able to find some sort of communication if we're not able to find a way down the mountain,"

"Exactly! And then we could try-"

"Everyone just hold on a minute!" Dad put his hands out, stopping both of us as we were planning. "No one's going anywhere right now." Voices were suddenly heard outside again and I looked at Dad.

"You were saying?" I deadpan. "You said you trusted me. Let me distract them" I plead. Dad looked at me for several more seconds before looking at Sam.

"Your call" He says with a shrug. Dad huffs and looks down before his eyes went back to me.

"You know the rule-"

"Be careful, be smart, don't be reckless, and don't get yourself killed?" I laugh. He rolls his eyes.

"Yeah sort of"

I nod and look around before my eyes settled on the door as I heard the voices getting closer and closer.

"Might wanna take a step back" I say a bit quieter. Dad slowly exchanged a glance with Sam before they both looked at me. He finally nodded and they both stepped to the side. I turn back to the door and took a deep breath, feeling that same sensation sprint through my body before I smirked.

…

"Run!" Steve ordered as Kate burst out the door with a roar and went directly for the squad of Hydra agents several yards away. They made there was across the opening and made it to a second building.

"She doing ok?" Steve asked Sam. Sam peeked out from the side of the building and jumped as a body flew past and hit the wall of a building ahead of them.

"…Let's just say she's handling it quite nicely" Sam breathed before they both peaked around the corner- seeing Kate in the form of a Saber-Tooth Tiger.

"That's new"

"Has she done extinct animals before?" Sam glanced at him.

"Nope" Steve smirked.

…

I roared and ran at the coming agent before tackling him against one of the buildings. He cried out as I bit down on his arm and shook it wildly. Letting go he flew against the wall before i turned and dodged a spray of bullets. Roaring out at the man with the gun I saw him speak into a com link before I rammed him into the ground, biting down on his neck I could hear him crying out as his head was actually in my mouth down to his shoulders as I bit down and heard the snap of his neck before I threw the body aside.

"Kate!" I turned and saw Dad and Sam running down towards me and I ducked as a shield flew over my head and hit the agent on top of the tank. I looked back over at them as they ran towards me and came to a stop.

I turned in time and ducked Dad's shield as it bounced back and he caught it.

"No communications around here at all" Sam breathed.

"We'll have to start heading down towards the town, we don't have any other choice" Dad added. I nodded before looking around when there was a snap of a twig and I turned before sniffing in a breath. My eyes widened and I stopped before turning.

A growl rose in my throat as I looked around cautiously.

"Kate..." Dad spoke up cautiously as well. My eyes were pinned on the surrounding forest as I swear I could see someone run past.

I recognized the scent of whoever was there. And the last time I saw them is a time I'd like to forget about.

I growled louder before looking around.

There was the sound of a chopper in the distance as it came down from the clouds.

My lips went back into a snarl and I roared out towards it.

"Kate we need to go" I heard Dad behind me. I glanced back at him before growling again. I can't shift into a Dragon again. I don't have enough energy for something that big.

I felt my fur bristle and I roared out loudly in a challenging manner as the chopper headed in our direction.

I turned back to them and roared for them to keep going before I turned back to the coming enemy.

"Kate-"

I heard Dad again from behind me when there was a sudden explosion and the chopper burst into flames. We all jumped and I felt my claws dig into the ground when I flinched and saw a jet come down from the clouds.

What the heck? Who is that!?

Gun fire started going off behind us and I turned to see more squads of Hydra agents advancing.

We turned back to the jet hovering just off the cliff and the ramp came down revealing Natasha and Clint.

"Long time no see Rogers!" Clint called out with a laugh. My ears perked up in a friendly manner and I saw Dad walk up beside me along with Sam.

"What took ya so long?" Dad called back with a smirk.

"We needed a nice dramatic entrance" Natasha grinned. Suddenly Iron Man flew around the corner and hovered near the jet.

"Any day now Capsicle, we'll hold em off" Tony said before flying past us and started holding off the advancing enemy. Dad nodded before looking at Sam.

"Let's go" Dad ordered before we all headed towards the jet. Clint ran back to the front and Natasha helped get them on and I stopped; smelling that scent again.

I looked back at them and saw Dad look at me.

"Don't you even-" He started threateningly, but I turned and ran towards the forest. Picking up the scent again I ran faster through the woods and as the gun fire noise died out.

I heard someone running and I came to a stop, my ears perked up in cautious curiosity.

I turned slowly and growled low in my throat as I roared slightly.

There was a sudden whiz of a bullet and I roared out as I felt the burning feeling slice through my side and I stumbled against a tree. I turned and roared out aggressively and saw someone running away. I roared at them and took off towards them and caught up quickly. They managed to trip as I ran up and the person quickly turned onto their back and looked at me in fear as I ran towards them with a roar. They pulled a gun on me and stared firing. I felt one soar right by me and I could hear the ringing in my ears.

There was suddenly another gun being fired and I came to a quick stop as the person stopped moving, and dropped the gun. I growled and stopped before I cautiously walked up, seeing blood staining the snow.

I was about to turn when I felt eyes on me. I froze where I was before I slowly started to turn and looked up a cliff about 50 feet up. I saw someone standing there with a sniper rifle.

I growled slightly and recognized him immediately. Slowly my ears came back up off the top of my head and I narrowed my eyes a bit. They stared at me a bit longer before he turned. I caught the light reflecting off his metal arm before he ran out of view.

I stood there a bit longer before my eyes went back down.

…Did he just save me? No- he wouldn't have, it was probably a target he was after and I happened to get in the way.

I looked down to the blood stained snow. The realization of pain in my side made me give a small pained roar as I looked down and my side. Using my opposite paw I touched my side before looking at my paw, seeing blood.

"Kate!" I heard my name being called in the distance and I roared out at the sky as if to say 'coming!' before I started running back.

The trees were passing by quickly as I ran back the way I came and I came out of the trees before stopping and looking around.

"We gotta go! C'mon!" Clint shouted and they waved me to come. The jet was further away from the cliff now, I would have to jump. I roared before running towards it. I could hear more gun fire behind me and agents yelling to keep firing. I picked up more speed and felt my claws grip the edge of the cliff as I pushed off with my back paws and leaped the 10 foot gap as I landed onto the jet ramp and scrambled up and inside.

"She's in! Let's go!" Natasha called to Clint who was flying.

"Alright, we're off!" Clint called back as we took higher to the air and the ramp came closed.

I was breathing heavy as I took a few steps to the side, letting Dad pass me as I knelt down beside me. I was a pretty big animal so kneeling down; he had to look up at me.

"You ok?" He asked quietly. I looked down at him before chuffing. To those who don't know that's a friendly alternative to purring, just not purring like a house cat or something. Kinda like a grumbling for felines but it's a low sound that's not as aggressive as a growl.

"Did you see something?"

Hell yeah I saw something. More like someone. And I don't feel like telling you about it.

"I saw that limp when you were running, did they get you?" He glanced at my side before looking back up at my eyes. I moaned and rolled over playfully, somewhat showing my injured side but not enough of it to let him see.

He chuckled before nodding.

"We'll have Bruce take a look" He says. I rolled over again upright before moaning friendly and nudged him with my head, knocking back a few steps and he laughed.

"How'd you guys know we were here?" I heard Sam ask.

"Pepper" Tony shrugs as he stood up from a chair. "No one was answering any of the phones and she freaked out so we tracked you down through Cap's suit.

Dad and I both looked at him with serious faces and then we looked at each other.

"I completely forgot about that tracker" He mumbled.

"You're welcome" Clint mumbled humorously. Dad seemed to ignore that comment.

"We'll need to dispose of this suit when we get back. Who knows if Hydra can still track it" Tony gave a nod before turning back to the computer screen he had been looking at.

I pushed myself back to my feet and Sam looked over at me.

"So this is the first time you've shifted into an extinct animal?" He asked me.

I gave a small friendly roar and nodded, opening my mouth before yawning.

"I'll take a wild guess and say you're enjoying it so far?" He looked amused. I moaned before rolling over again, showing my stomach as I used the floor to scratch my back.

Wow, who know being a big cat was so much fun?!

I got up and walked towards the front where Clint was flying the jet. I chuffed as I walked up to him and he turned back with a smile.

"Like the new ride?" He smirked and glanced at me.

I nod, looking around.

"The Avenger Jet"

Whoa. Not only is it Avenger Tower now, but now there's an Avenger jet?!

I roared quietly and rested my head on the back of his seat since I was almost as tall as he top of it.

"Kate, need to check for any wounds real quick. Doctor Cho will patch you up when we get back" Natasha called.

"Who's Doctor Cho?" Dad asked.

"Helen Cho. She's working for us now. Her and her team are excellent doctors and have patched us up quite a few times already" Clint spoke up.

I looked at him and exchanged a glance with Dad before looking over at Natasha and walked over.

"Shift back Kate" He spoke up as I walked over to him and Natasha. I gave him a nod before Natasha butted in.

"Actually I wanna check you how you are," she says. "Precaution" She adds.

"What do you mean?" Dad looked confused.

"We told Helen about Kate and her ability. She's really interested in seeing Kate. She might have some good tips for when you get injured in the field" Natasha looks at me. I suddenly got a bit excited.

If this Doctor, Helen Cho could help me figure out my ability it would make injuries while shifting so much easier to deal with!

I nod and stand still as Natasha kneels down on my left and looks at the blood stained fur.

"It's a flesh wound. But the Cradle's sure to fix her right up" Natasha smirks.

I glanced back at her and Dad looked down at her with a furrow of his eyebrows.

"You'll see when we get back" She rolls her eyes before dapping at the wound on my side with some disinfectant gauze. I hissed slightly and growled deep in my throat.

"Suck it up Rogers, you've had worse than this" He muttered and I caught her smirking. I rolled my eyes and looked around the jet some more. It was quite spacious and had a good bit of seating. Not to mention it was really high tech.

"So we're heading to Avengers Tower right now?" Sam sounded pretty excited although he was trying to hide it. Tony smirked before giving him a nod.

"Completely redone right?" Dad asked him.

"Hell yeah, it's been upgraded quite a bit since you guys moved to DC"

I had known that it was now Avengers Tower. But I hadn't been there since it was redone and neither had dad. I was pretty excited.

"Oh and by the way Kate, I upgraded your suit a bit" Tony calls over. My ears perked up at his statement and I chuffed before giving a friendly roar. I could see him smirk from the computer.

Now I really can't wait to get back to the Tower!

_**I know it's a long author's note below but **__**PLEASE READ IT**__** (IMPORTANT INFO GIVEN AS WELL!)**_

**Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. I know it was shorter than most of you would've liked but it's been so busy and I've been desperately trying to throw a chapter together to give to you before Christmas. I won't be updating for a bit over the break since it's a mad house with my family XD Please review if you liked this. In the next chapter Steve and Kate will be getting to see the new and improved Tower and meet Helen Cho. :) Chapters will be longer from now on, I'll shoot for about 4,000 words and up if that's ok…? I tried getting there today but I just couldn't find the time and this seemed like a good stopping point. You got a little glimpse of Bucky again and I can assure you all there will be more of him. Everything from here up until Age of Ultron I can assure you will probably not go along with the MCU; it will be a bit different so I hope its ok with you guys. :)**

**Have a Merry Christmas everyone! And I've been thinking about doing a small Christmas themed A Place to Call Home oneshot. I might write a quick one and update it as another oneshot. It's a maybe so I don't know for sure. But please keep a look out for it over the next few days if you all have the time and PLEASE give me a shout out in the reviews if you want me to do a Christmas themed one shot or have ideas for other one shots in general. Until next time everyone, bye! :) Happy Holidays! XD**


	83. (sequel) Chapter 21

Chapter 83

**I could come up with excuses on why I didn't update sooner….. But I'll spare you the story of it all. School, family, friends… you know how it is… or maybe you don't… … … … :)**

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :) Again- I'm really sorry about the lateness of this chapter.**

"How far out are we?" I heard Dad ask. Clint glanced back and looked at me before looking at Dad.

"An hour or so," Clint replies. "Going as fast as I can Cap" He adds. I gritted my teeth and let out a long breath. I was still in the saber tooth tiger form.

_**(She looks like the saber tooth in the movie 10,000 BC. You can look it up if you're curious to what she looks like) **_

Natasha didn't want me to shift back and I didn't either. For some reason this injury was hurting a lot. More than it should. Natasha originally thought it was a flesh wound…. Turns out it's not. The bullet was still inside, no exit wound which sucks. It's hurting like hell at the moment.

"Steve, we need to look at your leg" Sam states.

"I'm fine" Dad mumbles, still looking at me as I was laying on the floor, my head resting on the cold floor of the jet. "Serum already took care of it"

"That might be true but we still don't know, you could've broken something, we all know the serum doesn't repair your bones back to normal, it only heals over the fractures" Natasha reminds him.

I look at her and then dad questionably. Since when the hell did that happen!? He never told me about that… Figures.

"Can we focus on the task at hand right now?" He seemed to ask impatiently before kneeling down to where I was.

"Right, Tony, get me the supply bin" Natasha called over. Tony reached to the side and grabbed something without looking before putting it on the ground and kicked it over. Natasha grabbed it and dragged it over next to me as she was also kneeling down beside me.

I could feel her poking and prodding and I growled under my breath.

"Something's wrong" She mumbles. I slowly look at her and Dad's head snapped over to her's.

"What's wrong?" He asked in a concerning manner.

"This wound, I've never seen anything like it" She says. I couldn't really see what they were doing but tried to look back and stopped at what I saw. The wound looked slightly normal, but the veins surrounding it were completely black and the wound was gushing some kind of black puss. "I need to get the bullet out now because I don't think she was hit with a regular bullet" Natasha adds.

"What is that?" Dad demanded somewhat worriedly.

"I have no idea" Natasha mumbled. "Tony" She looks over.

"Hm"

"Need your eyes, gotta sec?" She asks. I look at him as he got up and sat down criss cross on the right side of Natasha, and Dad was on her left.

"H-Holy shit" He breathed when he looked at the wound in my side. "What the hell hit you Kate?" He asked seriously and looked at me. I didn't say anything; obviously I had a bit of a barrier on speaking. I chuffed and looked down.

Tony picked up a scalpel and I growled as I looked back at him.

"Relax Kate, I'm not gonna hurt you" Tony assured me. "But, I do need to take a look here" He mumbles. "Just, relax. If you tense or move too much I might end up making it worse"

Well thanks Tony; that sure as hell assures me.

I looked back at what he was doing as he brought the scalpel closer to the wound.

"This is might hurt, sorry in advance" He says quickly and I didn't have much time to react when he pulled the skin up and away, revealing the wound itself and holy freaking shit that hurts!

I immediately roared out angrily and stumbled to my feet before slamming him to the ground. Everyone tensed and looked to me.

"Whoa whoa, Kate hold on" Dad put a hand out in front of me as I was staring Tony down.

"I warned you," Tony mumbled and I growled again, making him flinch.

"Kate" Dad finally stated firmly. I finally growled and bared my teeth before backing off him and took a couple steps back.

"Kate, look at me" Natasha says and I could see worry in her face. I looked at her before walking over and sat down so she could lean over. She shined one of those flashlights into my eyes and moved it back and forth. I saw something change in her expression and the flashlight stilled in her hand. "Steve," She didn't take her eyes away from mine as he looked over her shoulder at me before his eyes locked on my eyes. But it wasn't like they were looking at me, more like past my eyes. It's hard to explain.

"Nat, what is that" He asked worriedly.

"I don't know" She says quickly. "Clint, we need to get back now" Natasha makes clear.

"Nat I'm going as fast as I-"

"NOW" She yells. I started getting worried as I looked at Dad and then at Natasha. She was never worried. Not like this at least. What the hell was wrong with me!?

"Kate, you're fine. You're gonna be fine ok?" Dad says and kneels down in front of me. I looked at him, fear clear in my eyes before I looked at Natasha who was digging through the first aid bin.

"You know, we need to know who shot her and what kind of gun they were using" Tony says after he got to his feet and sat back down in his chair. "I've never seen anything like this before" He nods to my wound and I tense slightly. Dad and Natasha look over at me and so does Sam.

"Kate I know you can't answer right now, but we need to know everything that happened when you got shot" Dad says to me. I freeze for a moment before nodding my head.

Shit. What the hell am I gonna say. Bucky was there, he shot that guy. But I don't know if he shot him because that was his motive or if he… you know, saved me. That doesn't sound right, but whatever.

"Oh, hello… Guys we got bad weather coming in" Clint yells back. "I'd hang onto something"

I roared up front as if to say 'what the hell am I supposed to hang onto?!'

"Kate, we need to do a couple more tests on it here ok?" Natasha says. "Whatever this is your body is trying to fight the infection and I don't know what's going to happen to you in the process" She says quickly.

I looked at Dad who honestly looked really worried and I hadn't seen that look before in a while, like -the first time I got shot- a while.

"Nat, get that bullet out of her," I heard Dad somewhat order.

"Rogers, I'm doing the best I can with what I have here, Stark may have built this plan but it doesn't come equipped with a working Medical bay yet," She snaps.

...Yet?

"Ok Kate, I'm going to try to dig for this bullet, I just gave you a strong anesthetic so you should not feel it. Ok? If you feel something you need to let me know because that means something is seriously wrong" Natasha makes clear.

I give a nod of my head and lay onto my side, waiting for something to happen. It was quiet and the jet shook every now and then from the weather Clint said we'd run into.

"I see it" She spoke up. "Steve, make sure she doesn't get up, one wrong move and I could damage an artery"

Christ, why the hell don't we wait until we get back then?!

I looked at Dad as he got down on his knees and placed a hand on my shoulder to make sure I didn't try to move.

"Try not to move ok?" He looked down at me with a forced smile. He was freaking out I could tell. I chuffed and rested my head on the cold floor. Damn it. Thanks Dad, for going off on this stupid mission with Sam and of course you got your ass into trouble and I had to come bail you out of it… smooth one.

"I see it," I hear her say and I tensed a bit when I thought I felt something. Wait-… that can; be right how the hell could I feel anything if-

"I got it," Natasha announces. "Clint, hold the jet steady"

"On it Nat," He calls back.

Seconds went by and I waited for something to happen when a sharp pain shot through my chest and I immediately roared out when it felt like the skin was being torn from the inside out.

"What the hell!?" Tony yelled back and looked over. "What did you do!?"

"I didn't do anything!" She yelled. "Steve, hold her down, she needs to stop moving!"

"I'm trying Nat" He snaps at her. "Kate, look at me. You need to relax" He says sternly. I felt my eyes flash over at him and I roared angrily.

What the hell does it look like I'm doing here!? This hurts like a freaking bitch at the moment.

"The bullet somehow attached itself to the tissue; I need to surgically remove it if we're going to do this"

"How is that possible? Tech like that doesn't exis-" Sam started.

"We're talking about Hydra here," Clint calls back.

I gritted my teeth and felt my claws come unsheathed as I roared again. This hurts so bad right now, I can't think straight. It feels like everything around the wound is being ripped out of me as she's trying to remove this damn bullet.

It wasn't long before everything started burning and I was starting to get lightheaded. I looked back at what Natasha was doing who was still trying to work around the tissue that the bullet had attached itself to.

"Do not let her go under!" Natasha snapped. "We can't tell her vitals right now and I-"

"She's out of control Natasha, which might be a little harder than you think!" Tony says.

"Kate, look at me" My eyes shot over to Dad who I honestly forgot he was right in front of me. "I know it hurts, but you gotta keep it together for me ok?" I groaned and gritted me teeth. Christ, that's easier said than done.

"Sam, I need a hand with this" Natasha nods for him to come over and he was kneeling on her right seconds later. "What do you see here- how would you go about this from here," Her eyebrows were crunched together with irritation from not knowing as Sam was still looking at the wound in my side.

"We need to disinfect this wound again," Sam says to her. "Whatever this is leaking out of the wound, it must've come from the bullet"

"That's what I was thinking to but it already reacted negatively to the disinfectant-"

"About 40 minutes out, I'll see if I can get us there faster," Clint calls back.

"Ok, um. Clint, get ahold of Doctor Cho and tell her to get her team ready" Natasha says over her shoulder.

"On it, Nat" He responds and turns on the com.

I turned to look back at the wound again. Dear God, I'm gonna be sick. It was still gushing this black puss and the veins around the wound were still black and the skin was getting really red like it was infected. It hasn't even been an hour yet, I couldn't have gotten infected yet… right?

"I'm gonna try to remove the bullet again," Natasha says and glances at Sam.

"Alright," I looked to Sam before my eyes went to the ground. I breathed out a moan and stretched my front feet, my claws curling into my paws slightly before I relaxed them.

I looked back as Natasha was getting the tweezers ready along with a guiding tool in order to move the exterior skin aside and I breathed in and out quickly as I felt her fishing around for the bullet again.

"Got it," I hear her say and I squeezed my eyes shut when I felt her begin to pull on it and that burning feeling like the tissue was tearing came back immediately and I gritted my teeth before growling.

"Sam I need help removing the bullet from the tissue, grab that scalpel," She nods to her right and I heard shuffling as the tool was removed from the first aid bag and my eyes darted back as I watched Sam start to help her. I had to move my head to the right a bit to see around Dad's arm who was still keeping me from getting up cause Jesus Christ this really hurts, damn it!

"Cut there," I heard Natasha mumble to him and I waited for something to happen for a moment and relaxed when I didn't feel anything for a moment. "Almost-"

It was as if every muscle in my body suddenly tensed and knotted up and I would've screamed if I wasn't in this form and let out a extremely loud roar and tried to get up and away from what was happening and both Dad and Sam held me down as Natasha was still doing god knows what inside the wound.

I roared again and tried to snap back to get them off of me, I couldn't bear the pain anymore despite the anesthetic she gave me. A sudden numb feeling washed over before everything started to lose feeling and I blacked out.

…

Kate suddenly stopped moving and everyone got quiet and looked at her.

"Kate," Steve spoke up quickly, looking towards her face as she wasn't moving and her eyes were closed. Natasha placed the bullet into a small bag in the first aid case before closing it.

"Does she have a pulse?" Sam asked, leaning in closer to Steve. He turned back to his friend before placing two fingers on the side of her neck, searching for a pulse.

"Yeah, she's still going strong" Steve mumbles with relief. Suddenly Kate's eyes snapped open and she tensed and they both looked down at her. "Oh thank god-" Steve breathed and Sam chuckled.

"You're in the clear Kate, Natasha got the bullet out" Sam said to her. Her eyes locked on them as she was still on the ground and she tensed again and her whiskers twitched before a small growl began to rise in her throat.

Steve looked at her eyes for a moment and felt the smile fall away from his face and it was replaced with concern.

"Sam, don't move" Steve swallowed and said in a low voice. Sam froze where he was and slowly looked at the Captain before looking back at Kate. The saber tooth growled louder this time and showed her teeth in a threatening manner and her claws curled in on her paws as she slowly began to move. "…Kate?" Steve asked quietly and her pupils dilated as she roared out and lunged at him. They all scrambled up to their feet and out of the way.

"What the hell did you do?!" Tony yelled as Kate was stumbling to her feet and let out a piercing roar and her ears flattened against her head.

"I didn't do anything, whatever substance was in the bullet is attacking her nervous system, she can't control herself none the less her ability at the moment" Natasha snapped at him. "Clint, I need a tranquiliz-"

Kate's roar cut off any speech and it got silent as everyone was frozen in place and the huge cat stalked the jet back and forth, eyeing the group of people.

"Steve," Sam whispered to the side and the other man looked over at him. "Ok, Uh-What the hell's happening man?" He asked and looked at Steve with the absolutely clueless expression.

Sam didn't know about Kate's limit to controlling her ability.

"Ok, Sam. I need you to first off stay absolutely still. And second, Kate can't always-... well,"

"Control?" Tony mumbles.

"Yeah, she can't exactly control her ability at times. If she's emotionally or physically unstable she sometimes-"

"Loses her cool?"

"Thank you Tony." Steve stated firmly.

"So... What does that mean for us?" Sam swallowed as his eyes were on the huge cat pacing the back of the jet where the lights were darker and the light reflected off her eyes, a slow growl in her throat.

"Let's just say we're not in the safest position at the moment," Natasha says in a low voice as she was slowly getting closer to where Kate was.

"Nat-" Steve started, but stopped himself as his eyes went to Kate.

"It's fine Rogers. I need to get the tranquilizer" She says quietly yet evenly, the shake of her voice could still be heard though.

Kate was still pacing the back of the jet and slowed as her eyes locked on Natasha and her pupils dilated bigger, a small growl rose again from her throat. The tiger's eyes were almost completely black, as she stared the assassin down like prey.

Natasha was blindly reaching for the gun she knew was laying a foot or so from Kate, her eyes never leaving the tiger's as she slowly reached out.

As her hand brushed the handle Kate's growl rose and she stopped briefly.

"Nat-" Steve started again.

"Shut it" Natasha cut him off as she grabbed the gun again, this time slowly pulling it towards herself when Kate snapped and roared at her. She lifted her front paw to swipe when Steve quickly pulled his shield from his back and threw it to the right of Kate.

The saber tooth jumped to the side as the shield bounced off the wall and flew back in Steve's direction as he caught it.

"Natasha-" Steve shot warningly as Kate growled before roaring at him and ran at him.

"Loading, hold on Cap" She called as she was putting the darts into the gun.

The saber tooth ran towards him and Sam ran forward, using his wing to knock her aside and she roared at him before quickly turning, biting the wing she knocked him back against the wall, not before tripping over a bin and roared angrily before turning to look at Steve.

"Cap, don't move" Tony's voice came from the front of the jet but he was now in his suit

"Ya think?" Steve growled at him and didn't move for a moment before his hand tightened on the strap of his shield.

Kate's tail thrashed behind her and her ears were flat against her head, her teeth bared in a threatening growl.

Steve glanced down at his shield for a moment and then back at her as he slowly went to lift his shield in front of himself for protection. As he did the shield bumped the first aid bin and knocked it over, provoking Kate as he eyes widened and she roared and lunged forward, she slammed him to the ground of the jet all the while Steve had his shield in front of his chest, protecting his upper body and face.

"Kate!" He yelled at her only to dodge a swipe of claws as she roared at him and clawed furiously at his shield. "Ka-" He started again but cut off as she knocked the shield aside. He was breathing heavy as she stared him down with a growing roar and went to hit him again when she jumped and let out a high pitched stutter and looked at her side before she started breathing heavily and finally collapsed beside him, a dart in her side.

"You ok?" Natasha asked as she slowly lowered the gun. Steve looked up at her, his eyes still a bit fearful as he nodded numbly before letting himself fall back on his back, on the cold floor, breathing heavily. He turned to look at Kate who was out cold from the tranq before he gritted his teeth and pushed himself to his feet.

He walked over to where Sam was and the soldier held out a hand as Steve helped him up.

"Not what you were expecting?" Steve asked him and Sam only shook his head, rolling his one arm with a wince.

"I didn't think she actually would-"

"Try to kill us?" Steve asked. "I know the feeling," He said quietly before looking to the side seeing his shield sitting on the ground, the pain gone almost everywhere from claw marks.

"We're almost there," Clint calls back. "She under?"

"Yeah," Natasha says. "She'll be out for a while. It should give us enough time to clean the wound out and see what Hydra hit us with this time" She says before going towards the front.

~0~

"And here we are folks" Clint calls back to everyone. Natasha and Sam looked over before getting up and walked to the front.

One of the monitors lit up and a woman with dark hair was there.

"Doctor Cho," Natasha smiled. "Is you're team ready?"

"Yes Agent Romanoff, we're all set here and waiting for you all" She smiled.

"We're gonna need a way to get Kate inside, she's in a-…" Tony glanced back. "Bigger shift than normal" He turns back.

"We'll make it happen, Mr. Stark" She gave him a nod before the screen blackened.

"This'll be interesting" Sam called to Steve who was sitting on a ledge against the wall of the jet, looking deep in thought. He looked at Sam before smirking.

"You got that right,"

"How does your leg feel? And for god sakes, answer honestly" Sam added at the end with a shake of his head. Steve huffed and leaned forward before scratching the back of his head.

"Something doesn't feel like when I put weight on it" He finally mumbles.

"Then you need to get it looked at man," Sam says, his tone serious. "None of this 'I'm invincible' shit"

Steve tried not to laugh and hide his smirk as the jet jolted and everyone looked ahead. Steve furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the building there were flying towards.

"Tony- what did you do to the Tower?" Steve sighed and got up before making his way to the front.

"Hey- It's my tower. And I renamed it" He shrugs at the end.

Steve tried not to look in awe as they got closer to the building and Clint brought the jet up higher.

"Whoa," Sam stated, his mouth open as a platform came out and Clint started to lower the jet onto it.

"Welcome to the big leagues," Natasha smirked and headed back to where Kate was still sedated.

"Alright, let's move it out" Tony calls. "Floor needs cleaning, all this blo-"

"Don't even finish" Steve snapped as his head turned to the Stark.

"Geash, Capsicle it wasn't supposed to be offensive" Tony says, putting his hands up briefly before walking down the ramp.

Natasha followed with Steve and Sam behind her.

"Rogers, this is Doctor Helen Cho" Natasha nods to her. Steve turned to the women and gave a smile.

"Captain," She gave a nod and friendly smile as they shook hands.

"Sam," Natasha nods with a smirk and Sam gave her a nod before Clint cleared his throat from behind them.

"Uh guys- I might have trouble getting her out by myself…" He calls, standing next to the saber tooth. Steve gave him a nod and turned back to see Doctor Cho looking with interest around him.

"Is that Kate?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's her" Steve smirked a bit as they all walked back up the ramp.

"You weren't kidding when you said she had the ability to change her physical form" She breathed and kneeled down next to Kate. Her eyes travelled over to the wound which they had placed a bandage over. "Is this is injury?" She asked and looked up at them.

"Yeah, here's the bullet" Natasha handed her the small bag and Doctor Cho took it and inspected it briefly, seeing the bits of blood and black substance in the bag.

"I'll take a look," She says before looking back down at Kate. "Would it be ok if I took this back to my lab? My equipment is there, I could get you results within the next day or so." She says.

"Yeah, that should be fine" Clint says to her, his arms crossed. "In the meantime… how are we gonna deal with this?" He asks with a smirk. Steve, Sam, Natasha, and Helen all looked at him before looking down at Kate.

~0~

It was several hours later and they managed to get Kate upstairs to a newer medical bay. The larger one was two levels below next to the lab in switch Tony and Bruce liked to tinker.

Steve had his arms crossed as he was staring at Kate's still unconscious body; she had shifted back to normal some time through the operation of cleaning the bullet wound- before looking at Doctor Cho.

"You sure she's gonna be alright?" He asked, a bit of concern in his voice but still calm.

"She'll be better than alright" She says with a small smile. "If I had her back in my lab, the cradle could repair this wound in maybe…. 30 minutes" She says as if it was an estimated time.

"Cradle" Steve stated, a bit of confusion in his voice. Helen was about to respond when another voice came from the door.

"Don't try to explain it Doctor, you might break him" Tony calls as he walks in. Steve merely rolls his eyes and sighs, his hands resting his belt as he turned.

"Stark" He simply says, watching the man walk over to a counter to grab something.

"Cap," He says back and turns, a tool of some kind in his hand. "Sam and Natasha are waiting downstairs. Sam's about to scold you for not taking care of yourself so I'd get my ass down there and get that leg looked at" Tony nods to his leg and walks for the door.

Steve huffed and nodded before walking towards the door with Doctor Cho following him. He made his way slowly down the stairs and winced a bit before finally getting down to the other Med bay.

"Finally," Sam mumbled as Steve rolled his eyes and came over.

"This better be quick," Steve sighed. "I wanna be there-"

"Yeah we know, you wanna be there when Kate wakes up" Natasha cuts him off. Steve looks to her before sitting down on a bed like table, with some slight padding.

"If you'll lie down on the table I'll take a quick x-ray" Doctor Cho tells him. He gave her a nod and changed position before lying down. "Try not to move too much, it'll be hard enough to get a good reading through this suit" She mumbles and he just nodded again and sighed.

"When did they say Kate might wake up?"

"They said soon" He turned to face Sam who nodded.

"How much pain did you say you were in?" Doctor Cho asked quietly.

"Uh, not much why-…" Steve turned and his eyes went to the projection of his leg on a screen and his voice got caught in his throat.

"H-Holy shit is that-"

"What the hell did you do to yourself?" Natasha blurted out and looked at him. Steve's mouth was still open as he looked at the image.

"Alright Captain," Doctor Cho found her voice after a few seconds. "It appears that you have fractured your femur, shattered you tibia, and also fractured you fibula" She says before looking at Steve who still looked shocked. "Not to mention your bones healed around the fracture, which is not a good thing" She adds.

"Can the cradle fix it?" Natasha asked. Doctor Cho shook her head.

"No, unfortunately it can't. We haven't perfected bone regeneration or healing yet. We'll have to put you under and re-break the bones and reset them" She says simply and they all looked at her, mostly Steve who had a somewhat horrified expression. "The femur healed pretty cleanly, so one snap and we can reset it, the tibia- that one will hurt to re break, then we'll have to do surgery to realign all the fractured pieces. And your fibula is actually healing back to normal, so that one will not need any breaking" She tries to say lightly and looks at him apologetically.

It was quiet from them for a moment before Steve cleared his throat and blinked.

"And uh, how long will that take?"

"Well it will take several hours to-"

"Can we shorten the time?" He immediately asked.

"Steve, you don't need to be up there when she wakes up" Natasha says.

"If I'm not she's not going to take it well. By the looks of the room she'll have no idea where she is and she's never seen Doctor Cho's team before-"

"The only way to speed up the process would be to re break the bones while you're still awake-"

"Then do that" He says simply.

"Seriously Steve?" Sam deadpanned. "C'mon, I'll go upstairs and wait for her to wake up-"

"Just do it" Steve ordered before sitting up, leaning against the backrest behind him that was attacked to the table like bed.

Doctor Cho looked over at Natasha and Sam before sighing and nodded.

"Let me go get my team, and I'll see to it this is done as quickly as possible" She says. Steve nodded and she left the room.

"Dude, you've seriously lost it" Sam states before sitting down. Steve just looked at the wall before looking at them.

"Like taking a band aid off right?" He breathes a light laugh. Sam and Natasha just looked at him blankly for a few moments.

"No, - no not really" Sam says with a straight face. Steve swallowed and cleared his throat with uneasiness.

A couple minutes later a man walked in and over to where they were and Clint followed.

"Maria needs you upstairs" Clint says. Natasha gave him a nod before walking for the door.

"Ok Captain. I shall be performing the procedure," He says, his English wasn't too clear but you could somewhat understand it. Steve gave him a nod. "Please lie down, relax. This will hurt, but not for too long" He says.

Steve took in a deep breath and let it out before taking in another one, glancing at Sam who was now standing anxiously.

The man placed his hands on Steve's lower thigh and hesitated before taking a deep breath and suddenly pressed down quickly and twisted his leg and there was a loud snap and Steve let out a pained yell and jumped back up from the table.

"Christ-!" He seethed through gritted teeth and clenched a fist on the side bar next to the bed.

"The next one will hurt more" The man says. "Are you positive you want to-"

"Just do it-!" Steve snapped at him before mumbling a 'sorry' for yelling at him.

Suddenly there was a gun shot from somewhere above them.

"Shit-" Sam mumbled. "Kate-"

"Sam-," Steve breathed painfully. "Can you-"

"On it Cap, hang in there" Sam smirked before jogging to the elevator. Clint looked over at Steve as he was breathing heavily through his nose and his jaw was still clenched.

"Your own damn fault for being a stubborn jackass" Clint mumbles before grinning.

"Not helping Barton" Steve breathed quickly as the man placed his hands on his lower leg, around his calf.

"Are you ready?" He asked. Steve didn't say anything for several seconds and took a few deep breaths, gripping the bars on either side of the bed again before giving a nod.

He readjusted his hold and took in a breath before jerking both hands in different directions, several snaps and popping noises could be heard and Clint cringed a bit through Steve's yell of pain before the doctor took his hands away and went over to a cart, pulling it over.

"Would you like some water?" He asked, holding out a small plastic cup. Steve had collapsed back onto the bed but shakily pushed himself back up before nodding numbly and took it and drank it in one gulp.

"Shit, man" Clint mumbled. "Don't break your leg again, cause this isn't fun to watch" Clit tried to say humorously but there was still concern in his eyes. Steve gave a breathily laugh and swallowed, sweat visible on his forehead.

"I'll keep that in mind next time I break a leg that it makes you uncomfortable" He says and Clint mumbles something amusing under his breath.

Suddenly a bullet was shattering the glass to their right and everyone's heads shot over when someone rolled into the room.

~0~

**5 minutes earlier… **

My eyes were already hurting before they opened, and when the light overwhelmed my sight I frowned and groaned under my breath. I looked around more, seeing I was in some kind of weird medical lab. I was still letting my eyes trail across the room when they darted to the right as two man walked towards me, one with a syringe.

"Where am I?" I demand cautiously. The man looked at me and then the other man before looking back down at the syringe. "What's that?" I add my eyes on the giant needle.

"It's just an anesthetic" I looked to the door as a woman with dark brown hair walked in. "You will start feeling more pain soon and we aren't completely done with your surgery" She adds. I move slightly and grit my teeth when I feel the muscles around my side tighten where I had gotten shot.

"Where am I?" I ask again.

"Don't worry, your family is here. They're downstairs" She says with a smile.

I didn't smile. In fact I didn't respond. I don't trust her or any of these people.

"Where's my da-... Where's-"

"Captain Rogers is in our other medical room two floors below us. He is well and comfortable" She says with another smile and had a tablet in hand. I didn't say anything briefly.

Why wouldn't they have someone tell me this, knowing I would be confused when I woke up? I went to sit up and stopped when I looked down. My wrists were latched to the bed.

"Oh-" My eyes shot to the women. "We needed to make sure you wouldn't move during the surgery," She explains.

Oh hell no. I am not ok with this.

"Can you talk them off?" I somewhat ask but still demand. She was looking at the tablet and tapped several things before looking at me.

"No, not yet" She says and looks back down.

Nope. I'm not dealing with this shit. I don't know you lady.

"Why not." I growl and felt my body start to tense again.

Suddenly I heard a yell and jumped. Recognizing it almost immediately who it was and my head snapped to them.

My eyes landed on a gun on the far counter and then to a scalpel on the little medical table beside me.

"Just relax, everything is fi-" the women went to lightly touch my arm and I pulled my hand from the cuff and grabbed the scalpel before pulling her around and put it to her throat.

One man grabbed a gun and shakily pointed it at me.

"What the hell is going on here?!" I demand; my hand shaking. The men were speaking in a different language and I couldn't understand it.

It took some effort but I pulled the other hand from the cuff and stumbled to my feet, the woman still in front of me.

The one man ran forward and I pushed the woman at him and ducked a wild punch before tripping him, easily knocking him out before I kicked the gun from the other man down and it went off; the bullet hitting the floor, grabbing his arm I flipped around and knocked his head against the counter.

I was breathing heavy and held my side before picking up the gun and ran for the door.

I bit my lip and stopped at the stairwell when I heard another yell and it sounded really in pain and it made it worse that I recognized that voice.

"Dad?!" I yelled down before I started running down the stairs.

I ran out into a huge room and squinted slightly and held a hand in front of my face, the gun in my left. When my eyes adjusted I saw almost everyone standing there. Thor, Natasha, Tony, Maria Hill, and Bruce. They were all walking towards where I was.

"Kate what are you doing up, are you ok?" Bruce asked and I saw the concern on his face.

I was breathing fast and felt light headed before I snapped back into my thoughts and ran towards the next door going down stairs. Running forward I turned my shoulder into it and busted it open before running down the stairs, hearing them calling after me as I ran down a flight before running into an open lab. Seeing a glass room in a different area of the room I ran towards it and raised the gun before firing at the glass and jumped through the hole in a smooth motion and landed in a roll, coming up back on my feet as I aimed the gun at the nearest man who was standing beside a medical bed like table and Dad was on it, his leg supported up a bit.

He was looking at me with his mouth dropped and the man next to him I didn't recognize but he had on the same lab like uniform. Clint was behind him and had gotten up from a chair near the table like bed.

"Kate?!" I could hear the wheeze in Dad's voice like he was out of breath- front whatever the hell they were doing to him. I immediately walked around the bed and grabbed the man by the front of his coat and slammed him against the counter, the gun pressed into his chest.

"Whoa whoa whoa- Kate-!" I heard Clint from behind me and I didn't even think twice as I looked back, pointing the gun at him and he stopped from walking towards me.

"Take another step, I dare you." I snapped at him.

"Kate what are you doing-" He demanded.

"More like what the hell these people are doing and why they're here" I spit back.

I quickly turned, holding the gun with both hands as I heard lots of footsteps and Maria, Natasha, Bruce, and Thor ran into the room.

"Kate, calm down" Maria started, seeing what was in front of her.

"No, I'm not going to calm down!" I yell. "What the hell is going on?!" I demand.

"Kate-" I heard Dad speak up from behind me.

"Put the gun down," Natasha said firmly. "You don't want to hurt anyone here-"

"Hurt anyone" I state and nod. "Oh of course, I'd never want that to happen. Yet here I find myself waking up strapped to a freaking bed with people trying to operate on me and then almost getting shot by them" I say with a sarcastic smile but it was clear I was pissed beyond my limit.

"Wait who tried to-" I heard Dad try to speak up again when someone cut him off.

"This is all a big misunderstanding" Bruce says calmly.

"Kate, you need to drop the gun-"

"Take a deep breath"

"Just let us explain,"

"Shut up!" I finally snapped as everyone started talking to me at once. They all got quiet and I was seriously starting to feel unstable.

"Tell me who these people are, what they're doing here, why I could hear him screaming in pain from two stories away, and why-" I cut off when I saw the man out of the corner of my eye try to calmly walk back over the where dad was. "-Take another step towards him and I swear I'll blow your God damn brains out!" I yell and the man flinched before backing up.

"Kid," I turned back with the gun still pointed forward and saw Tony taking a few steps forward. "We can explain all of this; you just need to give me the gun. Then we can talk" He says quietly. I kept the gun pointed forward as he was taking a few cautious steps forward. Once he was close enough to me I tightened the grip on the handle as he reached out. "Here, let me take that" He says and holds out a hand for it.

I stared at him for a few more seconds before my grip loosened and he slowly took the gun out of my grip and placed it in Clint's hand as he walked up on his right from the other side of Dad's bed that was literally right behind me.

"There," He says and puts a hand on my shoulder. "You ok?" He asked lightly. I nodded numbly, no emotion on my face as I got lost in my head for several seconds.

"Nat, help me get Kate back upsta-" I heard Clint start and I cut him off.

"If you think you're going to take me back up to that room you can seriously think again" I snap at him.

"Kate," I finally looked at Dad as he spoke that time. "You need to go back up to the infirmary" He says. I just stared at him with my mouth partially open.

"So no explanation." I state and wait for him to say something. Is he seriously dismissing the fact that I could hear him yelling in pain from the room I was in all the way down here?

"It's nothing you need to worry about," Dad says evenly. I knew by my face he could tell I was offended by that. I clenched my jaw and took a deep breath and turned to walk away with my fists clenched, kicking a cabinet door on my way and it slammed shut before bouncing back; the hinged snapped. Walking towards the hole I made in the glass I was about to jump down.

"Here, Kate I'll explain" Sam says. I turn, seeing he had walked into the room and over to me. He shot Dad a bit of an annoyed look. I furrowed my eyebrows a bit and looked back at him before letting Sam lead me towards the door.

"Who the hell are these people?" I demand.

"Doctor Cho's team" He says. I stop and my face went blank before I bit my lip and scratched the back of my neck.

Shit. This is great. That's a nice first impression.

"Oops," I mumble.

"Yeah you're right 'oops'." He says and breathes out. "It's ok Kate; it's not your fault. They didn't prepare you very well or be exactly honest with you,"

I raise an eyebrow at his honesty and nod slowly. He actually seems pissed.

"K" I mumble.

"Steve's fine by the way. Back in Canada when the building collapsed he broke his leg in two different places" He says. I glance at him and shrug a nod.

"I didn't really wanna know in the first place but ok" I mumble as we walked towards the stairs.

"Because what just happened back there was some freak accident that you ended up in there right?" He says sarcastically. I tensed a bit and glanced at him before looking down. "Now, Kate. I know you may not be accustomed to talking about certain things regarding what happened in DC. But there are people who want to help you" I could see him looking at me out of the corner of my eye but refused to say anything. It was quiet as we walked back upstairs and back into the big room I had entered earlier. I got a better look at it and felt my mouth drop a bit.

So this is the new communal area. It's freaking huge and… just different. Don't get me wrong, I like it. But it's very…. Tony. Let's just put it that way.

As we walked back up some more stairs as i finally decided to speak up.

"So…" I bit my lip for a moment and he looked over at me. "When I have nightmares and stuff, is that-…"

"Normal?" He finished. I nod. "Of course," He gives me a smile. "It's completely normal to have nightmares about what happened. You went through a traumatizing experience. I'd be a bit surprised if you were emotionally fine afterwards to be honest," I opened my mouth to object to having nightmares about that but chose to stay quiet… no reason to lie about it.

"And… I'm not trying to but I-…" I stop and swallow before thinking of how to word it. "I wanna trust people more, but after that I just…" Looking down as we walked out and back into the medical room I looked up to see the three people flinch when they saw me.

"It's perfectly fine to have trust issues" I heard him respond as we stopped in the doorway and I crossed my arms, somewhat hugging myself as I looked down.

"But to the extent that I have it?" I ask in confusion, pain in my face. "I- I can't even control myself sometimes. A-And I'm afraid I might hurt someone-"

"Kate. You've lost your biological parents, your brother, your friends, you almost lost your dad to the man who had been his best friend his entire life" He states. "You're more than allowed to have problems trusting people" He says in a serious manner. I didn't look up and nod again before glancing to the side. "I didn't want to mention this before because Steve would hurt me but I'm gonna let you know now since he can't do anything about it." I laughed a little and bit my lip. "But, I think you might have minor PTSD" He says calmly.

My eyes went up to him and I tensed a bit. It took several seconds before I nodded numbly.

"It's not a bad thing, its common" He says with a smile. "And you know what I kinda did for a living before DC so you also know that I am completely capable of helping you if you ever wanna talk, about anything ok?" He says. I smiled a bit and nod, still looking down.

My eyes drifted over to the three people nervously standing near the bed I had been on when I woke up.

"Wanna let Doctor Cho's team get back to work?" He smirked. I laugh and nod, sniffling in a breath before looking over at them.

"I'll be back in a few, don't get into trouble" He smirks and puts a hand on my shoulder before walking out of the room.

I hesitantly walk towards the bed, my one arm holding the other somewhat shyly and I sat down with a friendly face.

"Sorry about flipping shit earlier" I say with a bit of a straight face before giving a smile. The two men looked at each other and exchanged glances with the woman before they smiled at me.

"It's alright" The women smiled. "We should have provided better information when you woke up" She says. I give a nod before lying back on the bed and let out a sigh and took in a deep breath.

"Since the anesthetic is most likely wearing off, I'm going to give you a small one to make the effects last a few more minutes." She says. I nod and relax, letting my eyes gaze off into the system and I got lost in thought.

**Alright, so Hydra's got new creepy tech with their ammunition, Steve met Doctor Cho- sorry I know I said Kate would to, sorry stuff changed… - And Sam's gonna kept Kate with her anxiety and trust issues. **

…**Was the chapter ok? Hope it wasn't a let down on top of the long long long…. Very very long wait. Please let me know what you all thought and I hope to get some kind of feedback :)**

**OH! And I almost forgot to mention, I will be writing a Christmas one, I know it's kinda late but I am in the process of writing it. And there is another Oneshot coming up for this story too. I can't estimate when it will be up but I hope it will be soon. **

**Let me know about any requests of thoughts you have! It could be for this story or for an idea with a oneshot! :) **


	84. (sequel) Chapter 22

Chapter 84

**Here's the next chapter! :D **

**Thanks so much for the reviews Juliet and Molly, TeamPhoenix18, and PinkyWinky44 :) Getting feedback from you guys means so much and I always enjoy reading your reviews! :D**

**Your requests will be taken into account and I hope to look into them further more soon! **

I sat back up from the table and looked down at my side as one of the men started to organize his tools that were one a lab table.

"Thank you," I say before looking up at him. He looked over and gave me a smile and nod before walking to a different counter where the other man was and the woman walked over.

"It was no problem," She smiles; I could still hear her thick accent. "Now the bullet was removed and Doctor Cho has returned to our lab in Korea to finish doing studies on the substance that was in the bullet,"

"…Do you know what it is yet?" I ask hesitantly.

"No, we have not yet identified what the substance is. We do know that it does a couple different things. One, it attacks your nervous system, causes your muscles and tissue to knot and ultimately cause muscles to tear. It's also affecting your brain, mostly the limbic system. This overall is like a database for your emotions. The hippocampus was the main target of the substance found in the bullet, it controls emotional ties to memory and past experiences" She says. I was quiet briefly before nodding.

"So how does this connect to me losing control of my ability back on the jet?" I ask, looking at her again.

"Well," I watched as she walked around the bed and over to her clipboard which was on a table next to me. "The solution that was leaked into your body affected you in a way that is associated with your emotional experiences" She says. "We have read your file, and know of some parts of your past, and that was a specific target that was hit soon after the bullet became lodged in your abdomen. Some of the negative experiences, memories of feelings that you may have were- exaggerated in way" She says hesitantly, as if she was trying to find the right words. I nod and scratch the back of my head.

"So does that mean I'll be more… edgy, with my ability?" I ask question.

"For the time being, yes. When you shift, there are large amounts of adrenaline hormones released all throughout your body. That's why you are able to contain a different physical form for so long. Your body has evolved to endure massive quantities of this hormone… but," I look back at her when she added that. Great, there's a catch. "Whatever this substance is, it sends signals to your brain to increase the releases of adrenaline even more so. This is what leads to feelings of restlessness, irritability, nervousness, just about what is required when your body can no longer control the itself and the different aspects of your ability takes over" She finishes.

Jesus Christ, this is a lot of information. It didn't think it would be _that _complicated. I swallow somewhat nervously and nod again before my eyes trailed over to the table and I picked up a cup of water before taking a sip.

"So," I swallow and look at her, placing my cup back down. "How can I make sure that doesn't happen?" I ask. She looks at me for a moment and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Until the substance is completely out of your system I would try to keep your activity level as low as possible, at least to the point where you don't find yourself in any dangerous situations" She says somewhat reasonably.

"What about training?" I ask eagerly. "Can I still do that?" Please, please, please let me be able to train. I so am not going more than a few days without anything to do.

She looked hesitant to respond and I waited patiently for a response as she walked back around the bed. I looked down into my lap and then back at her when she stopped.

"As long as you have supervision at all times during training I'm sure you all may figure something out" She says with a smile and a nod. I just nod back and think for a moment. "Do you have a supervising officer that can organize a temporary schedule concerning your training?"

"I think I fit that role for the time being," I heard someone call and turned with a roll of my eyes as Dad was walking in with a slight limp.

"Why the hell are you still in your suit?" I state somewhat sharply. He cocked his head to the side slightly at my tone before smirking.

"Well it's nice to see you too" He says warmly before sitting at the end of the bed. I clenched my jaw and looked to the side over at what the doctor was doing.

"How'd the final stages of the procedure go?" He asked, looking at the woman.

"They were overall successful, Captain. But I must warn you that there is still a small quantity of the substance in her system. Too much physical activity might cause it to act up again and it'll have a negative effect on her ability" She says, and I let out a silent groan in the background. He's gonna keep me out of the gym for months.

"Well we can work around that a bit. Maybe some PT alongside training" He says with a nod. My head snapped over to him with a 'are you freaking serious' look.

"Wait- excuse me?" I blurt out and he looked over at me. "Any other day and you'd do anything to keep me away from the gym. Now you want me in there more?" I question. What the literal hell? Ok, who are you and what have you done with my actual dad?

"No I wouldn't" He defends and I just look at him for several seconds and he shrunk a bit when I could see the gears start turning in his head. "…Ok maybe I would" He admits. "But, this is different and I wanna make sure we do the best thing to get you back on your feet as soon as possible" He says before looking towards the door as one of the other male doctors walked out.

"Wait, so… you _want _me back out in the field?" I ask slowly. I could see him clench his jaw a bit and he looked down before looking at me.

"Yeah Kate, I want you back out in the field" He replies. "The way everything's changed over the last few weeks I honestly wanna make sure we keep clear heads about this" I nod and look down before furrowing my eyebrows.

"Is that your way of saying you want me back in the field so I can save you ass when you get in trouble again?" I start laughing and he huffs before nodding.

"Sure, Kate, that's definitely what I meant. Just couldn't find the right words" He says sarcastically, a smile forming on his face. I grabbed my cup of water and began to sip it again and stopped from giggling.

"Oh," He said real quick and turned to something besides him and picked it up. "Here," He says before handing it to me. I furrowed my eyebrows over my cup and slowly took it.

"…What is it?" I ask slowly and look up at him, seeing how his eyes were somewhat avoiding mine and staying either on what he just handed to me or on his feet.

"Just an apology" He shrugs, somewhat mumbling as he looked at his boots. Looking over at him again I hesitated before looking back down at it.

"For what exactly? I don't remember you doing anything worth an apology" That's so a lie. I can think of a couple things right now.

I looked down at what I was holding; it was a square-rectangular shape, wrapped in some tissue paper with a piece of tape to hold it all together. I it was a smallish box.

"It's nothing special, just a truce since I've been a real jerk lately about-… well, a lot of things lately" He says quickly and shakes his head. I look down again and start to unwrap the item before pulling the tissue paper away. My mouth dropped at what I saw and I looked at him.

"You got me a new phone!?" I shout in astonishment, a huge smile on my face. He cracks a smile before nodding. "Oh my god!" I think I just squealed at the end of that. "Wait- is this the-"

"IPhone 6? Yeah, Tony literally just had it dropped off before you woke up and wreaked havoc on the tower," He chuckles and scratches the back of his neck. I stopped for a moment and look at him questionably.

"And who's fault is that I wonder" I mumble and pull the phone out of the box. He huffs and nods.

"I know, I know, my fault" He says evenly and holds his hands up.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I say quickly and hug him. He smiles and wraps his spare arm around me.

"You're welcome," He laughs before kissing the top of my head quickly. "Now, there are going to be a few rules here," He says after pulling away from the hug and my eyes slowly narrowed.

"…Keep going," I say suspiciously. He looked a bit cautious in a playful way but also still happy.

"Tony has given you pretty much full access to the Stark iTunes account," He says slowly. I raise an eyebrow in interest.

"Meaning…?"

"Meaning," He stops for a moment and clenched his jaw and breathed out. "You have unlimited money to spend on iTunes and the App Store, basically" He says.

"SERIOUSLY!?" I yell and bounce on the bed before stopping and rubbing my side. Damn it, ouch, that hurt.

"But!" He cuts me off. "You need to run whatever you're going to buy, by me first" He says sternly. I roll my eyes and nod before bouncing again on the bed.

"What did I do to get this?" I laugh and look over at him again. He didn't say anything for a moment before adjusting himself where he was sitting.

"I know that- It hasn't been easy for you the last few weeks," He starts. My expression didn't change as I looked at him but ended up furrowing my eyebrows at the slightest. "And I haven't exactly been helping you with that," He adds. I didn't say anything for a moment.

"And you got me a phone because you felt bad…?" I question slowly. He was eyeing the ground, a blank expression on his face before looking at me quickly and giving an enthusiastic shrug.

"What, am I not allowed to buy you things?" He chuckled.

"By all means you can" I laugh and swipe the lock open and start looking through my games. "I was gonna say, with the whole reason why you got it. It couldn't have been from what happened an hour ago, that's quick even by Tony's standards" I smile to myself. I could see him looking at me out of the corner of my eye before I looked over at him.

"I'm sorry about that," He says quietly after several seconds. "I wanted to be there when you woke up, but Sam insisted I get my leg looked at," He huffs. "Next time I'll make sure I'm up there ok?" He says playfully. I looked a bit serious at first before I forced a small, convincing smile before looking into my lap.

I wasn't even afraid, Dad. I was worried about you. He'll never get it.

I felt my expression fall a bit more before I was snapped out of the thoughts.

"Hey people," I looked at the door and saw Darcy walk in.

"What the-!?" I blurt out. "When did you get here?" I ask with a laugh.

"Eh, few hours ago give or take. About the same time as you were about ready to shoot up the building" She says with a smirk. "Oh, hey you gotta see this pic of the dude I kissed in London" She pulls out her phone and plops down on the opposite side of the bed that Dad was on.

"The intern dude?" I question and lean over.

"Yeah that one," Darcy says back.

"You dating him? What was he like? You obviously must have just met the dude since you never mentioned him before over text," I say, looking over as she scrolled through some pics. I could see Dad still sitting there quite comfortably.

"No I'm not dating him the guy turned out to be a real asshole once he knew I'd be going back to New York," She says with a roll of her eyes and I chuckle.

"Most of them are assholes anyway," I shrug and she nods in agreement.

"Hey-" Dad bumps me with his shoulder and gives me a stern look. "Watch the mouth"

"Wha- how come she can cuss?" I mumble.

"She's older than you- I don't know" He shrugs before getting up. "I gotta go debrief with Sam. Natasha and Clint want the details" He says.

"We can hang around, cause some trouble" Darcy shrugs and I smirk.

"Hey," Dad calls over and we both turn. "Don't get her into trouble," He says to her.

"Don't worry, we'll take it easy today" She says reassuringly and I laugh as Dad pointed at her.

"I'm serious Darce; I don't want Kate messing up that injury anymore," He says seriously and I could see him trying to stay serious and hide his smile.

"Gramps, we'll be fine. Walk around the city or something" She says and I let out a snort and started laughing.

'Don't call me that," He says firmly, but I could see he was trying to stay serious and not stutter.

"Spangles?"

"No Darcy,"

"Captain Tight pants?" She asks hopefully.

"Wha- I don't even wear that suit anymore!" He argues and I could almost hear a whine in his voice which only made me laugh harder. The team apparently gave him a hard time about the spandex- oh, I'm sorry it's called body armor… at least that's his argument. The suit he wore during The Battle of New York.

"Alright, besides the point Stevie. That's it, I'll call you Stevie" She decides. "We'll take stroll through the city; you got nothin to worry about Stevie!" She calls and he throws a hand in the air before leaving in a hurry.

It was quiet for several seconds and I bit my lip, silently chuckling to myself.

"He was so blushing, he knows he likes that name" She says to herself with a proud look. I snorted again and laughed before she handed me her phone.

"That's the dipshit who dumped me before we left" She says. I looked at the picture, he looked alight.

"Sucker" I mumble and she snorted as I handed her phone back to her.

"How'd that happen?" She pointed to my side. I shrug and roll my eyes before sitting back.

"Wrong place wrong time type-a deal"

"Ah, so it's one of those." She says slowly; still looking at her phone. I didn't say anything for several seconds and stared down into my lap before picking up my awesome new phone. I pushed the home button and smiled when I saw the same screensaver I always had on my phone; Dad's shield. Guess Tony downloaded it all, how the hell he did that when my old phone is still in DC beats me. Hacking skills come in handy I guess?

"Wanna go get high on Ben &amp; Jerry's ice cream?" She suddenly asks casually.

"Yes!" I make clear, putting my phone in my pocket. She laughs as I got up before we got up and headed for the door.

~0~

**Two hours later…**

Ugh. Eating that much ice cream is not the greatest idea I've had.

"Dude, I feel like I'm on drugs right now, I'm not even kidding" Darcy mumbles as we were sitting at one of the tables in Ben &amp; Jerry's. I laughed and stopped, rubbing my stomach with a pained look.

"My stomach hurts" I announce and let out a painful chuckle.

"Same" She breathes before pulling her knees up and hugged them. The chairs we were sitting in were these funny round looking ones. I rested my head back against the chair and breathed out.

"So all of SHIELD's gone…" She trails off. I look at her and nod.

"….Yeah," I say quieter.

"Sucks," I snorted and sat up.

"Like you got know idea,"

"So what are you gonna do now since you're not an agent?" She asks, also sitting up. "I mean, you obviously still have your Avenging fam. But is Stevie actually gonna let you become an official Avenger?" I laughed at her question.

"Not in a million years," I chuckle and sit back again.

"You sure? I mean I know he's probably the protective type, but with everything you've done it seems like you're more than capable" She points out.

"You do realize we're talking about _Steve Rogers_, right?" I deadpan and smirk, chewing the inside of my cheek. "It could be raining hell on earth and he wouldn't allow me to accept the title of avenger" I laugh to myself and leaned back, propping my feet up on the table and leaned back.

"There you are-" I heard someone grumble and my head shot up and I saw Dad heading towards us.

"Dad!?" I blurted out; falling backwards over the chair. Darcy snorted before bursting out laughing.

"You're drunk off your ass on ice cream," She cackles and leans back. I scrambled to my feet, quickly sitting down and started to quickly pull something out of my pack. I saw Darcy look up at him and furrowed her eyebrows. "Whoa. Nerd alert." She laughed.

"When you said you were gonna cause trouble I didn't think that meant eating yourselves sick with ice cream," He deadpans, crossing his arms as he eyed me. He was wearing one of his 'disguises'. He was wearing a hoodie, jeans, sneakers, a cap… and-

"What's with the dork glasses?" Darcy butted in before I could finish the thought.

"He counts it as part of his disguise" I tell her.

"You should be wearing something of the sort too," He says before pulling a chair over and sat at the other side of the square table, to my right and to Darcy's left.

"Like maybe dye my hair?" I question.

"Oh! And get some sick tattoos!" Darcy adds.

"Completely gothic look!" I laugh and Dad didn't look pleased as we burst into a fit of cackling laughter.

"Please tell me you went through that phase already" He says flatly and I laughed harder.

"If it makes you sleep better at night, than sure," I tell him and he smirks before looking down at the table.

"We need to head back soon," He says, leaning back against the chair. I frown and look at him. Darcy did to as she was sipping her soda through a straw. "We need to go over what happened when you got shot," He says seriously. I look at him for a moment and didn't know what to say. I keep coming back to the fact that Bucky was there and I don't want him to know because he might try to look for him.

"Uh… I got you somethin!" I smile. He furrowed his eyebrows at first and I could tell by his face, he knew the topic worried me a bit. I started digging through my bag and pulled the pint of ice cream from it. "Cookies n' Cream ice cream! Your favorite!" I smile and slowly wave it around and he was still looking at me seriously before I saw a small smile tug at his lips and his eyes went to what I was holding. He slowly took it and placed it on the table, opening the lid.

Darcy pulled out a spoon and held it out to him. He gave her a grateful smile and was about to take it when he stopped and eyed her for a moment cautiously.

"I didn't use it if that's what you're thinking" She rolls her eyes. "It's a spare," He just slowly nods before taking it.

"Don't think this gets you out of an explanation," He points at me with the spoon that now had ice cream on it before taking a bite.

"I- but…" I cut off and huffed. "You're welcome," I mutter playfully.

"Thank you," He sighs and I give him a big smile in return.

"So how's the leg?" Darcy nods to him, slurping the remains of her soda. He looked over at her and hesitated.

"Better," He says simply. "Thanks for asking," He says gratefully and took a bite of his ice cream.

"No problem Stevie," She says, grinning to herself. I saw him clench his jaw and huff through his nose before glaring at her. She only narrowed her eyes at him over her drink. He finally looked back down into his ice cream, not able to hold the glare any longer as he tried not to smile.

I had pulled out my phone, checking the time before putting it back down.

"Alright," Dad mumbled, sticking more ice cream into his mouth. "Let's head back, dinner'll be ready soon" He says before getting up, putting the lid on his ice cream in the process. I huff and nod before slowly getting up. Darcy grabbed her bag and got up as well before we all headed for the door.

Coming down to the sidewalk I stopped and turned back as Dad and Darcy followed.

"We gonna walk?" Darcy asked. I look over at her and shrug before nodding. Dad looked over at her and then at me, before I saw something change in his expression when concern washed over his face- I ignored it to be honest. Darcy nodded back to me and I started to walk a bit with her following.

"Kate-" I heard him from behind me, and it was seconds later that he grabbed my arm and stopped me. My eyes went to him questionably.

"Wha-" I didn't finish as he looked around before directing me to a small alley a few feet away and turned me so that I wasn't facing the entrance. My eyes followed his down to my side and I saw a small bit of smeared red on the fabric.

Shit. God forbid I get out into the real world for a bit without looking like I'm going to bleed to death.

"Here," I looked back up as he started to take his sweatshirt off and he handed it to me. Quickly putting it on, I looked back up as he adjusted the cap on his head. We walked back out seconds later where Darcy was waiting on her phone. She glanced up at us before holding the gaze.

"What was that about?" She asked, still slurping what remains were left of her soda.

"We're taking a taxi," Was his reply before we walked down to the curb. "Give me a scale number," He mumbles to me. He basically means on a 1 to 10 range of how much it hurts.

"3" I mumble back. "But it doesn't really hurt. I mean- of course its sore, and the doctor said it would for the time being but I thought it was sealed completely" I say, looking up at him.

"It was," He says as he stopped a taxi and we got in. I furrowed my eyebrows for a moment before looking into my lap as we all squished into the back of the taxi, me stuck between them.

"Ouch," I mumble, as they closed their doors and Dad told the driver to stop a block from Avenger Tower.

"Wouldn't be so cramped if it wasn't for Mr. broad shoulders over here" Darcy says to me, looking at Tumblr on her phone. I laughed at that and buckled the seat belt in the middle as we started moving down the street.

"What was that?" Dad turned and by the looks of it he actually didn't hear Darcy's comment.

"Oh- nothin," She says, her eyes glued to the phone screen. He looked at her a bit longer questionably and then at me- which I quickly averted my eyes before biting my bottom lip to contain a giggle.

~0~

By the time we got back to the tower and _back _to the medical bay where I was before there was a women I hadn't seen before there waiting.

"Kate," She smiled before walking up. I stopped and looked up at Dad. He gave me a smile before I looked back over at the women as she walked over. "I'm Doctor Helen Cho, I'll be taking a look at your injury" She gave me a curt nod and a smile. I only smile and nod in reply before she walked towards one of the beds. I was about to glance at Dad when I felt a hand on my shoulder and I shot him a quick glance as he started to direct me in that direction.

"So when exactly did you notice the opening in the wound?" She looked at me as she was putting on gloves. I opened my mouth and stopped before looking at Dad for an answer, considering he was the one who noticed it.

"Oh, it was about 20 minutes ago" He says before swallowing. "You said you didn't feel much pain?" He questioned and looked down at me. I shook my head.

"And she shouldn't," I heard Doctor Cho say and we both looked over at her. "The substance is causing some slight deterioration to the surrounding tissue of the wound. We had some small predictions that this would happen. It's just a minor side effect to the substance leaving your body and shouldn't be too much of a problem," She says with a smile. "Just make sure to do some daily stretching, get some rest, drink plenty of water," She lists before exchanging a nod with Dad. "Make sure the gauze pad is changed regularly. Once when you wake up, one throughout the day, and then once again before going to bed"

"Alright," Dad nods before looking down at me with a smile. I gave a partial smile before looking over at her.

"I'll go ahead and clean the wound out and change the bandage if that's ok?" I nod and walk over before sitting down on the bed.

~0~

It was hours later that I was back on the open communal area and Darcy and I were eating Doritos at the bar counter, also drinking Mountain Dew. This combo is amazing by the way; my life wouldn't be complete without them.

"Did you ever figure out where the hell those elves were from?" I asked, referring to what happened in London. She looked at me before shrugging.

"Ooo, Doritos" Tony jogged over before grabbing a handful from our bag of Cool Ranch- my favorite by the way.

"Get your own," Darcy snapped at him. He only rolled his eyes before popping on into his mouth.

"Feeling any better K?" He turned to me. I shrug, looking over at where Dad was talking to Natasha.

"I feel mostly fine,"

"Sore?"

"Yeah," I end up shrugging again before eating another Dorito.

"Oh my god," Darcy mumbled as she spoke up- Dorito in her mouth. "I just started this online College class, the lady that narrates the whole thing has the worst English ever," She says. I laugh before she continued. My eyes had went over to Tony and I looked at him with a raised eyebrows as he was looking at something to the side questionably before he held up a freaking Dorito and his mouth dropped.

"What?" I question, cutting off Darcy's rant before we both got up and walked over behind him to look over his shoulder. He moved the Dorito behind Dad and stopped before we were all literally staring with our jaws practically hitting the floor.

"Holy-" Tony cut off before I bit my lip. I'm gonna have so much fun with this.

…

**5 Minutes later…**

"Tony- you cannot buy the Frito-Lay company just to make Steve the Doritos logo," Pepper answers flatly, sitting at her desk. We were all standing eagerly in front of it.

"But I want it!" He says before frowning, crossing his arms.

"Tony, no" Pepper sighs before putting her fingers to her temples.

"But-" I spoke up.

"The dude literally has the shoulder-to-waist ratio of a Dorito." Darcy says, looking at all of us. "That doesn't just happen. The people need to know" She says in a political manner. I couldn't help but bite my lip humorously. This is amazing.

Pepper looked at us for a long moment and narrowed her eyes.

...

"Damn it," Darcy mumbled as we walked out of the elevator with Tony back onto the communal floor area.

"I thought she was gonna crack" I add in a sad manner. We all looked up and a loot of horror crossed our faces before we ran towards what was about to happen.

...

"So she's taking it good?" Natasha asked Steve. He gave her a nod.

"Surprisingly,… yeah. She's been really good so far about not pushing the limit." He says.

"That definitely is surprising" She smirks before grabbing a Dorito from the bag left on the counter. Steve watched as she grabbed one and then grabbed one himself. "Has she done anything out of the ordinary?" She asked him. He shook his head quickly.

"No of course not," Then he nodded slowly. "Well," He laughed a bit. "Not anything weird or out of the ordin-ARY!" He ended up yelling as he was tackled to the ground and seconds later Darcy and Tony ran up.

"Cannibalism, Rogers! Cannibalism!" Tony made clear and Steve looked a bit dazed at the tackle as he looked to the side, seeing a German shepherd panting and looking down at him happily.

Seconds later she walked around him and hopped on the counter with her front paws, grabbing the bag in her teeth before hopping off as they all ran for the elevator.

"Kate, get back here right now!"

**Couldn't wait any longer for Captain Dorito to be founded by them XD And I was in a Darcy mood and felt like adding her. You'll probably be seeing more of her too, hope that's ok with you all :)**

**Anyway, hope you liked the chapter! I made it longer than the usual since a good few wanted longer chapters. Please let me know if it was good and what you thought!**

**One shots are still in progress, I know it's taking a while, sorry about that. School's been really hard on me the last few weeks.**

**ALSO! Let me know if you've got any ideas for this story in the reviews or feel free to PM me :) **


	85. (sequel) Chapter 23

Chapter 85

**Next chapter! Yay! :) Ok, so- so far I think you guys like the sequel so far…? Just a guess, i know I've gotten plenty of positive reviews- btw, thank you all so much for them! You honestly have a choice whether or not to, so thank you for giving me the feedback; it really does mean a lot to get replies on how much people enjoy this story :) **

**And with requests I know I say it almost twice in every chapter, but PLEASE! If you have a question, suggestion, request, anything- **_**do not **_**be shy to ask! :) And I know many of you have left comments about certain things, I will start addressing them at the beginnings of chapters if it's in the reviews, or I will PM you back if you want it to be an anonymous comment. That way you actually know I look at what you guys have to say :) And I promise that I do. I literally have dozens of pages of possible ideas for this story, from future relationships, suggestions and requests, to possible MCU movie crossovers and TV show crossovers in the MCU, **_**hint hint. **_***wink* :D Yeah! So lots of different ideas still in the works, I have pieces of what will happen in Age of Ultron already in the works and bits before that and also some possible ideas for Civil War stuff, even with my lack of information at this point in time.**

**I know what you're all thinking- this girl seriously won't shut up and give us our chapter. So without further ado, you're chapter! :)**

**WAIT! Sorry, ok so I am going to list a few possibilities at the end of this chapter from reader requests, please let me know if you are interested in them or if you have one you would like me to give more information on, even if you have an idea of your own-….. Let me know :)**

**Ok! I'm done. Totally done. **

So… Captain Dorito. That's what everyone is calling Dad now…. It's amazing I tell you. Amazing. He hates it obviously, but Tony and Darcy are getting a kick out if it, and so is Clint.

"This is your fault" I turned to see Dad eyeing me from the opposite side of the counter.

"Wait… what!?" I blurt out and laugh. He narrowed his eyes, leaning his arms on the counter as they were crossed. We were on the private communal floor, a few levels above the open communal floor that Tony apparently has lots of parties on. This one looked almost exactly like the original floor before Tony remodeled the Tower thankfully.

"You heard me," He said back.

"My fault you were born with a shoulder-to-waist ratio of a Dorito?" I laugh then stop when he raised an eyed. "Sorry, I meant that you were super soldiered into getting a shoulder-to-waist ratio of a Dorito" I laugh, correcting myself. He huffs and rolls his eyes before picking up his water bottle.

"You might need to check your bandage in an hour or so," He says, sipping the water. I look over before finally nodding, taking a seat at one of the spinny stool across from him. I was eyeing the counter and tracing the lines in the marble with my finger when I noticed him eyeing me.

"So…. About what happened back in Canada" He says slowly and leans forward over the counter a bit more so I would look at him. I stop tracing my finger on the counter for a moment and glance at him really quick before looking back down at the counter before shrugging.

"Did you see someone?" He asked. My eyes were shooting around the counter. I glanced at him again and saw the determination on his face. He's not gonna let this go, it's now or never I guess. I nod and look down again. "Who," He pushed a little further and I was quieter for a moment.

"Bucky," I mumble.

"What!?" He demanded, suddenly raising his voice and I looked at him quickly with a confused and startled face. "He shot you?" He almost shouted and I looked at him for a moment.

"No, no- he didn't-"

"Did he hurt you?" He cut me off and I was still looking at him with confusion. Ok, calm the hell down dude.

"No he shot the guy that shot me" I blurt out quickly.

"What d-…." He stopped and looked absolutely confused beyond belief. "Wait…." He looked at me with his mouth open before closing it and looking down, his eyebrows scrunched together. "What do you mean he shot-"

"The guy that shot me, I was running towards him and-"

"He missed? Did he get you at all or did the other guy take the blow?" He butted in quickly. I huff and look at him, seeing if he was done talking yet or not.

"No dad. I hadn't seen anyone yet when I got shot and I turned to see the Hydra agent who had pulled the trigger and I was running towards him when he started shooting at me again. Someone else shot him before I could get to him and it wasn't until I looked up the cliff to my right that I realized it was him," I explain. He looked like he was zoned out in deep thought, even though he was still looking at me. I looked at him for a moment and he seriously looked like he was lost in some serious thoughts at the moment and I waited awkwardly for him to do something, anything.

I finally cleared my throat and looked around awkwardly. "Uh, dad?" I spoke up and he blinked out of his thoughts before looking at me and smiled.

"Ok," He sighed and looked down at the counter and nodded to himself. "Just wanted to know," He adds before going quiet for a moment. "And you're sure it wasn't him who shot you?" He asked me seriously. It took several seconds for me to nod in reply. "…ok," He looked happier, like a burden had been lifted off his shoulders or as if he was now hopeful for something…. Don't know if that's a good or a bad thing.

"That's all?" I ask slowly. He was still looking down before his eyes went back up and met with mine. He was quiet again for several seconds.

"Why didn't you want to tell me?" He finally asked a bit quieter. Damn it….

I looked at him briefly and then at the counter.

"I dunno," I mumble and shrug my shoulders. It was really quiet for what felt like hours and I knew he was eyeing me and waiting for me to crack. I finally huffed before opening my mouth. "I thought if I told you he was there you might try to do something stupid or crazy and look for him," I blurt out and look at him.

His look changed a bit for a brief moment and I waited for him to say something but he didn't. "And after… everything," I try to say carefully without bluntly saying 'after you stupidly almost got yourself killed'. I hesitated for a moment. "I just did want something like that to happen again," I mumble and try to shrug it off like it didn't scare me to death half the time, which it does. Knowing he might have actually tried to look for him really put me on edge before.

"Kate," He sighed and spoke up a bit quieter.

"I know, you don't have to explain it, I know you would tell me if you were looking for him or something like that," I chuckle and roll my eyes. "No need to go over that," I laugh and look at him.

He clenched his jaw and looked down before giving me a smile. I hesitated to say anything as a nervous smile crossed my face.

"You wouldn't look for him… right?" I asked, trying to hide the worry that I knew he could hear in my voice by the face he made. He eyed me for a moment before sighing and his head dropped for a moment.

"Ok… Alright, Kate I was gonna t-"

"Cap," Clint suddenly appeared in the room. I looked over and caught dad huff and close his eyes as if to say 'why now.' I tried to hide the confused look that was now on my face before Clint walked over and threw a newspaper down onto the table. We both leaned over simultaneously and eyed the title.

_Captain America finally back in town? The star spangled hero returns from DC after the fall of SHIELD, along with his adopted daughter. _

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked over at Dad, seeing him eyeing the picture below the headline. He didn't look happy.

"What's this for…?" I ask hesitantly as I looked back up at Clint.

"Just a heads up. Since you guys left, The Avengers have been making the headlines for months, just be careful when you go out now. You might be flooded by paparazzi. Nat already got her share and a cameraman got a broken nose," He chuckles. I laughed but Dad was still staring down at the paper, reading some of what it said.

"Thanks for the heads up," He summed up and looked at Clint before getting up. I watched him head for the stairs before disappearing down the stairwell. Both Clint and I were left staring after the direction he left in before he looked over at me.

"What's his problem?" He asked me and I looked at him before shrugging.

"No clue," I lie before briefly looking through the newspaper. It's been a while since I was actually mentioned in the paper in some way. It was about a month before we moved to DC that the world found out who I was, in relation to dad that is, after a little mishap in the city when Bruce lost his cool when an explosion went off in the lab, thank Tony for that one.

"Did you get noticed at all while in DC?" Clint asked me. I looked over at him and hesitate before shrugging.

"Not really, Dad was occasionally. But other than that it went pretty smooth" I tell him. He nodded before picking the newspaper back up and rolled it up before tossing it onto the dining room table.

"It should pass by pretty quickly; I wouldn't worry too much about going out in public" He chuckles. I smirk before nodding as I got up and started walking for the elevator. "Where're you going?" He asked. I look back after pushing the button.

"Sam's" I say casually. He laughs.

"After what we just looked at and you're going to go out in public," He states. I shrug as the door opened and I walked in.

"I got nothing to do," I say.

"You need to change the bandage for your injury," He points out. I huff and nod as I turned back to him.

"I'll do it when I get back," I reply.

"Steve doesn't know you're leaving," He finally states louder as if to say 'you are forgetting something here!'

"I'll text him once I'm out the door" I say with a shrug as the door closed.

~0~

I knocked a couple times on the door before shoving my hand back into my sweatshirt pocket. It was quiet for several seconds before I heard the thumping of feet get louder and the door was pulled open. I gave a small smile when I saw Sam appear and she gave me a look.

"Thanks for the warning dumbass!" She shouted playfully. I look down amusingly as she did so. "I get to find out SHIELD's gone to hell by checking YouTube seeing a video of Helicarriers falling out of the sky!" She says before stepping out and pulled me into a hug.

I flinched a bit but hid the pained expression as my side throbbed a bit, just a little.

"And now I'm seeing articles of an avalanche in Canada that was set off by some explosion and sightings of a god damn dragon flying around blowing stuff up- you wouldn't have anything to do with that would you?" She asked sarcastically and I laugh. She was still hugging me and I felt her grip tighten as I let my head fall onto her shoulder. "You ok?" She chuckled, her voice a little lower now and I could tell she was worried.

I pull away and laugh before nodding, scratching the back of my head.

"Steve ok?" She asked a bit quieter. I look at the doorframe to the left, avoiding her gaze for a moment before I sighed and nodded.

"Better than ever" I say with a shrug of my shoulders. She looked at me for a moment before narrowing her eyes.

"Alright, let's get you inside before you have a breakdown- I can see it coming" She says before directing me inside. I opened my mouth to object to that before just shutting it. Better to just listen…. She might actually be right.

We walked through the living room and towards her room, I saw her Dad on the phone in his office with the glass door shut as we walked by. Walking into her room I walked in and she closed the door behind her before walking over to her mini fridge she had next to her dresser.

I was staring at the floor when she nudged me and I looked up to see her holding out a Mountain Dew.

"Thanks" I breathe a laugh.

"It's all I ever stock in my fridge" She says with a grin. I open the bottle and took a small sip before placing it next to me.

I sat down on the edge of her bed and she sat in the desk chair, spinning it around to face me.

"I saw the footage and articles about DC" She says slowly, I was still looking at the ground. "I also saw about what happened to your Dad…" She adds. I looked up at her then and clenched my jaw slightly and breathed out through my nose before looking back down. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that," She says. "I know how hard that must have been for you after everything you've been through,"

"You have no idea," I laugh quietly and lean forward on my knees. I could feel her looking at me but I chose not to look up.

"You wanna talk about it?" She asked. I quickly shook my head. "It's ok, you know you can. I won't tell anyone unless you say otherwise," She says with a smile. I didn't say anything for a long while. Minutes went by before I slowly looked over at her.

"When we were on the last carrier the assassin was also there," I tell her quietly. "I found Steve-"

"Dad" She says in a friendly way with a smile. I roll my eyes slightly and sniffle.

"Dad- on the cat walks in the bowl of the carrier and he had already been shot like 4 times or something" I say and quickly shake my head when the image came into my mind. "His shoulder, leg and stomach- and I think his side too" I add quickly so I could get that out of my head. I could see a lot of pity in her eyes and I quickly looked at the ground. "This… assassin, my dad uh- wanted to see if he could reason with him or something" I say and felt my eyes water a lot and I quickly blinked them away as I remember what actually happened that day. "So-…" My voice was brittle as I rubbed my face with both hands before lowering them. "He pushed me back and I literally fell through the bottom of the carrier- and he made sure I didn't fall but put me in a position where I couldn't get myself back up" I explain and stop.

I quickly look down again and blinked at least half a dozen times. I refused to look at her, knowing that she would feel bad even more if she saw my eyes filling with tears.

"He was saying he was staying to talk or whatever," I try to word without saying his name. I breathe deeply and focus for a moment. "He wouldn't let me stay, I wanted to help" I say and sniffle in a breath. "I knew he was just trying to protect me but I didn't want," I stop for a moment and breath deeper for a moment. I heard the chair squeak slightly and she got up before sitting down next to me. "I didn't want to lose him too," I say through a brittle voice. I blinked quickly and made sure no more God damn tears slipped as I took a deep breath. "He said-…" I stopped for a moment and it all slowly went blank.

_"I'm not gonna leave you ok? I'll be right behind you; I just need to get him out" _

_"You promise?" _

_"I promise" _

_"Dad-!" _

_"Please don't let go" _

_"Daddy please-!"_

I quickly shook my head and took in a deep breath before holding onto it for a moment. Calm down. It's over and done with. "He-" I stop when I felt my voice crack and I waited.

I didn't say anything for a while as I got my voice back.

"He dropped me," I say. "And I fell into the water below before the carrier crashed into SHIELD headquarters," I add. I felt myself get a handle on my emotions for a moment before I found the guts to continue.

"He d-…" I suddenly couldn't bring myself to say it. I was quiet for almost a minute.

"Kate?" She spoke up hesitantly. I bit my lip and felt a couple tears slipped and I didn't even bother wiping them away.

"He died," I barely get out before I coughed on a sob. I could feel her freeze beside me and I hid my face in my hands. "He died and I couldn't do shit to help him" I muffled my cries into my hands. "It was my fault for not staying and helping him- I should've been there!"

"C'mon Kate. Don't be ridiculous, that wasn't your fault!" She blurted out. I shook my head as I was hiding it in my hands.

"That killer almost beat him to death; you didn't see how I found him. I was literally right there. I heard his heart stop beating!" I say and look up at her with red and puffy eyes. 'Do you have any idea what it's like losing your family _again_ and knowing that this time it was _actually_ your fault!?" I say. I wasn't angry but I knew she wouldn't try to convince me anymore.

"Kate- he's alive. That's the part that matters, doesn't it?" She says and looks at me. I was looking at the ground and didn't acknowledge her at first before she nudged me.

"He's alive, say it for me" She says. I sniffle and look at her as I rubbed my eyes.

"He's alive" I mumble in a brittle voice.

"Good, again" She says and I huff before blinking.

"He's alive" I mumble again.

"Believe it yet?" She asked me and pulled me into an extremely strong hug. I made a face and sniffled as she laughed to herself. "Your dad is fine. You're fine. It's all ok, ok?" She says to me after letting go. I look at the ground before giving a small nod. "Good," She says before picking up both our Mountain Dews and handed mine to me. I took a sip and could see her eyeing hers as I drank mine.

"You know I look up to you right?" She finally says. I looked over at her.

"Me?" Ii almost laughed sarcastically. "The one who's having a meltdown at the moment-"

"You're way too hard on yourself. I'd be hysterical." She says in a serious tone. "Do you know how brave you are? I could never do some of the things you do"

"I'm an outcast loser who gets beat up all the time" I state.

"And like you dad was any different before the serum?" She says with a chuckle. I furrow my eyebrows.

"How did you-?"

"Family field trip to DC, I saw his exhibit" She says with a shrug. I roll my eyes and look down.

"The fact that you're brave enough to even call those people your family is huge" She adds. "We all know that this is as dangerous as it gets for someone your age you took a freaking bullet for someone already" She adds and I could see her swallow. She hated thinking about it, I was sure of that.

"That's why you look up to me?" I almost laugh.

"You may not think anyone knows but I can see right through you Rogers," She says with a smirk and I roll my eyes and found myself smiling. "You put yourself first, in front of everyone. I know you look up to Steve and you want to be like him. And I know you think you owe him for giving you a second chance at having someone to call family," She looked over at me then. "I know you don't want to lose him, I wouldn't either. But you gotta make sure you take care of yourself too," My smile had immediately dropped and I stared at her in shock. I'm sorry, language ahead children-

"What- the fuck man," I mutter. She laughed and let herself fall back on the bed.

"Told you I knew you," She says.

"Anything else you'd like to tell me?" I say shortly but still humorously.

"Yeah," She says and started to get a bit serious again. I waited for her response. "By the way you just explained what happened I know you're not going to let this go easily," She states. My eyes went down and I breathed out mostly in a calm manner. "Just promise me you won't overdo it" She sighs. I knew what she was talking about and she knew that I knew.

"No promises," I tell her with a shrug.

"You can't always save everyone Kate," She says a bit quieter. I just nod quickly before opening up my Mountain Dew. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I quickly pulled it out and Sam looked over my shoulder.

"Damn it," I mutter and stare at the lock screen with the text on it.

"Who is it?' She looked over and let out a laugh. "Speak of the devil!" I quickly read the text and swallowed hard.

_Dad: Where are you._

Sam read it and was quiet before blinking a couple times.

"Is it just me, or does this look more intimidating than it should me" She states and we exchange a glance.

"No, this is about the norm" I shrug and unlock my phone before going to his contact. I quickly typed in a response.

_At Sam's. _

I quickly pushed send before putting my phone down when she snatched it.

"Dude!" I blurt out and try to grab it.

"I wanna see what you guys send back and forth!" She says before scrolling through. I huff and watch her for a moment. "AW!" She says before chuckling. "He uses emoji's!" She says with a laugh.

"Yeah I use them all the time so I put it on his phone. When he's in a good mood he likes to send tons of them with each message" I state and she throws her head back with a laugh.

"That's just amazing," She says as she was scrolling through more.

"You guys don't text very much do you" She finally states. I shrug.

"Well, before with missions and everything it was kinda hard to text each other. We only really texted when we were both in DC but- you know, not in the same place" The phone suddenly buzzed again and I snatched it from her before checking the message and she whined.

_Dad: Tell me when you're leaving so I know._

I typed up my reply before pushing send

_I always do! :) :) :) :) :)_

"Here, watch" I tell her after showing her my response with several emoji's. It was quiet for a moment before it buzzed again and the text came through.

_Dad: Have fun! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D_

"He used more than you," She laughed. I nod with a chuckle.

"Anyone else and he'd be the last person you'd guess to be so animated through text," I state.

"And who's to thank for that?" She laughed. I gesture to myself proudly.

Placing my phone down on the bed I took another sip of my Mountain Dew before she turned the TV on. "We can watch The Walking Dead on Netflix," She says with a smile. I quickly nod.

"Yes." I state and lay back, getting comfortable as she got Netflix up.

~0~

It was a while later; I was finally on my way home from Sam's. We watched The Walking Dead for a several hours. Taking my phone from my pocket I sighed when I saw it was after 10. Damn it, Dad won't be pleased I was out this late. He doesn't like me out in the city by myself after 9:30.

I stuffed my hands into my pockets as I was walking down the sidewalk when my eyes went up and started to notice people looking at me. I started to see more and more people look at me and then they started mumbling to each other and I anxiously dug my hands deeper into my pockets and kept my head low as I walked a bit faster.

"Hey, it's the shifter!" Someone suddenly blurted out. I cursed under my breath and looked behind me before looking ahead, about to run around the turn when a couple people walked up to me. I stopped and nervously looked around until someone tapped my leg.

I stopped and looked down in surprise when I saw a little boy in a Captain America hoodie, he looked about 5.

"Hi" He giggled. I didn't move for a few seconds as I swallowed. "Can I have a hug?" He asked, holding his hands behind his back. I looked at him a bit longer, absolutely taken aback before the mother sighed as she walked up.

"I'm so sorry, he just insisted on talking to you," She laughed and moved the hair from her face.

"Oh, Uh- it's fine," I give a small smile before kneeling down to his eye level.

"What's your name bud?" I asked with a smile.

"Conner," He giggled and gave me a big smile.

"Ok, Conner. Who's your favorite avenger?" I ask with a chuckle.

"Captain America!" He laughed and jumped; pulling the little hood over his head which looked like Dad's helmet.

"Good choice, he's my favorite too" I laugh and he giggled before suddenly jumping and wrapping his arms around my neck in a hug.

"Oh- Conner, get down, don't bother her-"

"It's ok," I laugh and give him a little hug before he dropped back down.

"Here!" He held out something and put it into my hand. I opened my hand and saw it was a little toy dinosaur.

"Can you be that one?" He asked curiously. I laugh and kneel down again.

"I don't know Conner, I'll give it a try" I tell him. "Mind if I hold onto this so I can remember what it looks like?" I ask. He looked so surprised and excited at my questioned and nodded wildly.

"Thank you," I smile before standing up right.

"Let's go Conner," His mother said to him and he grabbed her hand. "Thank you for your time," She smiled gratefully.

"No problem," I chuckle and give him a little wave when he turned around and waved back.

Damn it, he was a cute little kid.

I smiled and looked at the little toy in my hand and furrowed my eyebrows at first, not recognizing it. Wait-... This looks like the dinosaur in that new Jurassic World movie...

"Awesome." I state to myself and grin. I am so gonna achieve this, it'll be bad ass. And maybe I can scare the shit out of Dad.

"There she is!/Kate!/ Katelyn Rogers!-" I suddenly looked up when there were tons of cameras and reporters in front of me and I stuffed the toy into my pocket and backed up a bit as they cornered me.

"Is it true you were part of SHIELD?"

"Has Captain Rogers fully recovered from his injuries?"

"What do the other avengers have to say about the compromising of SHIELD?"

"Now that the information is leaked, do you hope to look into the death of your parents?"

"WHAT?!" I yell and look around for the reporter who said that but it quickly left my mind as they all began bombarding me with questions again. I backed up a bit and realized they literally were surrounding me.

...

Steve walked out of the elevator and onto the private communal floor where everyone hung out. He spotted almost everyone on the couches or at the counter and Clint was flipping through channels on TV.

"Heard from Kate yet?" Tony called over. Steve shook his head as he walked over.

"She said she was leaving Sam's a couple minutes ago. She should be back soon," He explained, walking over to the counter.

"Hey Uh... Cap" Clint called over hesitantly. Steve turned with the beer Thor just handed to him.

"What"

"I don't think she'll be back very soon," He nodded to the TV and Steve looked at it and tensed when he saw Kate on the news and tons of reporters in her face.

"Damn it," He muttered before forcefully putting his beer back down that he hadn't even opened yet, and headed for the door.

"Don't do anything stupid," Tony called and Steve didn't respond as he disappeared down the stairs. It got quiet before Clint sighed.

"Alright, let's make a bet," The archer announced and everyone eagerly got up and walked down to the couches to watch and see what Steve would do.

"Let's watch the news version of it, oh! And record this, I wanna keep it forever" Tony mutters and Clint does as told.

...

"Will you be becoming an official member of the Avengers?" One asked, pointing a microphone at me.

"No comment," I make clear, but I was becoming uneasy. I didn't like being center of attention. Not to mention that this could draw a lot of unwanted attention... *cough* Hydra.

"Kate, how old were you when you figured out how to control your abilities?"

"When was it that Captain Rogers adopted you?"

"Does he judge you because you're different?" Some women asked.

"Wha- no!" I blurt out, and then shut my mouth. Don't answer and then maybe they'll go away.

"How did Captain Rogers' selfishness to bring you into these situations affect the relationship you have with him?" Where on God's green earth do these people come up with rumors like this? I mean- really?

"Kate!" My head snapped up when I heard Dad's voice and I looked around.

"Dad!" I called and I saw him push through a few people and the swarm suddenly went into an uproar and they all looked to him as he walked over and I couldn't tell his expression. He didn't look mad, but he wasn't smiling either. It was more of his determined war face he has out in the field.

"Let's go," He says to me. I just nod as he guided me towards the road to call a taxi and the mob of people followed.

"Captain, what is your take on the public's reaction to SHIELD's downfall?"

"Is it true Hydra was responsible for its fall?"

We made it to go the curb and waited but it was backed up completely. There were no cars moving, nor empty ones. He nodded down the sidewalk and I followed as we began to walk down.

"Kate! What do you think will happen next with SHIELD gone?"

"Do you still wish to work with the Avengers as an agent?"

"Hey- can you just answer some questions for us?" I heard someone snap and suddenly got my arm grabbed and yanked back into the crowd.

"Dad!" I shouted to get him to stop. I looked back at the camera crew in front of me as a reporter was trying to push through.

I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder and I was directed behind Dad as he walked up. I had my mouth open when I asked what he was doing and he suddenly threw a punch right at the camera, it was quick and he drew back right after, after the glass of the front shattered and everyone yelled or jumped from being startled. It got extremely quiet and Dad turned and nodded ahead and I stared at him with my mouth open before laughing.

"Ok," I laugh as we started walking and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. Although, it was kind of a strong grip so I don't think it was him being father-like. It's actually a bit of a strong grip- ouch.

"You ok?" He asked and kissed the top of my head.

"Yeah," I laugh and looked at him. "Can you do that more often?" I laugh again as we turned the corner. They still followed but kept about 15 feet of distance. He rolled his eyes and I laugh harder.

"They lay a finger on you and sure," He smiled and I nodded in reply.

"Awesome," I chuckle as we kept walking.

...

**A Few Minutes Earlier...**

"Damn, these people don't let up do they?" Clint mumbled as they were all watching the news version.

"Nope," Darcy mumbled.

"_Oh! And here's the Captain now!_" The women sitting at the desk said as she looked ahead and the camera and the man sitting next to her looked at her before looking ahead.

"_Well Shannon, it appears he is,_" He responded as he looked ahead. The green screen was obviously behind them but they replaced it with the live footage.

"There's are boy!" Clint cupped his mouth with a laugh and everyone chuckled as Steve's pushed past all he camera crews and over to Kate before they went towards the road.

"He looks pissed," Sam chuckled and looked at everyone.

"Believe me when I say it could get a lot worse," Bruce added onto that.

"Amen to that," Tony mumbled and took a swig of his beer.

Everyone watched on the news as they were walking down the sidewalk and asking questions when one of them suddenly grabbed Kate and yanked her back before demanding some answers to their questions.

"Oh god," Clint mumbled. "Get ready,"

Steve suddenly came back into view and was looking at the camera -that they all were watching through- as he walks forward and suddenly threw a punch right at it.

"OOOHHHH!"

"YES!"

"Hell yeah!"

"Go Cap!"

Every guy in the tower, except Bruce, through their hands in the air and yelled a victory as if they were watching a football game, all the women sighed and shook their heads expect for Natasha who grinned and Darcy who was laughing her ass off.

There was a sickening crack as he punched it and the footage was lost and the different colors came up along with the de-connecting sound. The two news people had jumped where they were sitting and it got quiet.

"_Well... That was unexpected,_" The man spoke up before looking to the women.

"_Appears we caught him at a bad time,_" Shannon, the news lady, announced. "_Alright, now we have a robbery coming i-_" Clint paused the TV with a big smile and looked at Tony.

"Glad I recorded that?" He smirked and Tony gave a nod with a pleased smile.

"You're never gonna let him forget about this are you?" Jane asked.

"Never," Clint and Tony said simultaneously.

The elevator suddenly dinged and everyone looked over as Steve walked out with Kate following.

"There they are," Clint laughed and clapped a few times. "Quite the show Rogers," He applauded. "Mind if I ask for an encore?"

"I can give your face the encore?" Steve suggested before walking towards the bar.

"Oooooooo" Darcy mumbled along with Sam and they looked at Clint with a look.

"Well that's a bit aggressive" Clint mumbled and sipped his beer.

"Steve, did they follow you back?" Pepper spoke up.

"Yeah, they're still outside" He turned and looked at her with a beer in hand and somewhat snapped the cap off of it and tossed the piece of metal on the counter. Kate eyed it as it rolled across the counter.

...

My eyes watched the little piece of metal hit the counter, seeing it bent. Jesus, is he mad? Like actually mad?

"Uh, Dad?" I spoke up somewhat cautiously. He looked over at me and the tenseness he had up disappeared almost immediately when he realized I noticed his mood.

"Hm?"

"I Uh..." I swallow and looked around. I don't even know what I'm gonna say now.

"Clint took Thor's pop tarts," I blurt out, then furrow my eyebrows. Why did I just say that?

"WHAT?!" Clint yelled in confusion as the god looked at him confusingly. "It wasn't me it was Tony-" He said quickly.

"Like I would do that," Tony rolled his eyes.

"You were drunk," Clint added. Tony stopped his beer from reaching his mouth as he looked over at Thor. "Ok then I might have done it, I don't remember putting all those pop tarts in my bathtub" He says slowly and Thor narrowed his eyes.

~0~

Let's just say I haven't seen Tony for the last hour and a half...

I was lying on the couch watching The Walking Dead over _again_ and Dad was next to me- well to be technical I was laying on the pillow that was in his lap and he was to my left. Clint was the other couch on his back with his hands rested behind his head. Dad surprisingly wanted to see it since Clint and I are practically obsessed with it. He did seem a little horrified at first, but I think he was warming up to the show a bit.

I reached over to the coffee table to my left grabbed a small handful of popcorn before munching on a few pieces.

"Don't eat too much more, I want you to go brush your teeth in a few minutes," Dad says. I look at him before silently nodding, munching on the remaining pieces I had in my hand.

"Can I come back down after that?" I ask. He thinks for a moment before pulling his phone out to look at the time.

"Sure," He gives me a brief smile and I nod before looking back at the TV. "To say goodnight to everyone" He adds plainly and I huff before looking at him.

"Why?" I whine.

"Kate, its like- midnight!" He says back like there was nothing wrong with his argument.

"And?" I mumble before looking back at the screen. Not 10 seconds later I realized we were at the end of the episode and the credits started rolling.

"Perfect timing," He says almost victoriously before looking down at me.

"Sit up," He says and I groan and sit up before falling to the other side of the couch, snuggling into the pillow. I heard the next episode start playing and I whined into the pillow.

"How come Clint can watch more?" I pout and turn to face him as he stood up.

"Cause I'm so much awesomer than you," Clint says.

"No it's because he has no life, come on" Dad nods to me and Clint made some kind of offended noise as I laughed.

"Why are you so mean tonight?" He mumbled as if he were deeply offended and he put a hand to his chest.

"Kate," He says to me, ignoring Clint's question. I just nod with a roll of my eyes before heading for the elevator.

~0~

**A few minutes later… **

I pulled the covers further up until they were under my chin before I picked up my phone again. Going back into my fanfiction app my ears perked up when my door creaked open and I heard a small knock.

"You ready?" Dad asked after peaking his head in. I nod and look back to my phone as I continued reading. I could see him walk in out of the corner of my eye before he sat down with a sigh. I was finishing up the last few sentences when he grabbed my wrist gently and pried the phone from my hands.

"Hey!" I whine as he took it before plugging it and setting it on the nightstand. "I was almost done," I mumbled.

"You can finish it in the morning," He chuckled. "You need to get some rest,"

"You always say that," I roll my eyes. He smiles and nods.

"I say it because it's true," He chuckled. I just let out a huff, blowing the hair from my face as I nod. "So, tomorrow I was thinking that we could try a few PT exercises that Sam and I were going over," He says eagerly. I blink a couple times before nodding.

"Can we see a movie instead?" I smile big and grab my covers before pulling them up under my chin. He slowly furrowed his eyebrows before laughing.

"A movie?" He questioned.

"Yeah," I reply. "We haven't really seen one, in the theater that is," I add. He nods after a few seconds.

"I haven't seen a movie in the theater in a while," He chuckled to himself and looked down briefly. I looked at him for a moment and felt my face fall just a little.

"When was that?" I push.

"1937" He tried to say with a straight face but failed. I laughed and let my head fall back against the pillows.

"That's too long," I laugh and shake my head. "That's way too long," I giggle and pull my covers up over my nose.

"I'm so glad you find it amusing," He states and shakes his head. I nod and laugh for a few more seconds.

"Yep," I laugh. "W-What was the first movie you saw?" I try to contain my laughter as I waited for his answer.

"Well- that was my first and last time" He says with a small nod. "I didn't exactly have money to spare growing up," He says before giving a small shrug. I got a bit more serious before smiling slightly.

"Can you tell me?" I ask hesitantly. He furrowed his eyebrows at my question.

"What do you mean,"

"Can you tell me a story from when you were younger" I reply somewhat excitedly. He looked at me for a long moment before smiling.

"Alright," He sighed and adjusted where he was sitting on the edge of my bed and place his hands on either side of him. I snuggled deeper under the covers and waited.

"Alright so, 1937 was when Snow White and the Seven Dwarves came out," He starts as I chuckle.

"That was the movie?" I ask.

"Yes Kate, that was the movie" He chuckled. "I had never really had the chance to see movies growing up, my mom was a nurse and had several part time jobs just make sure we had food on the table every night," He was looking at the bed comforter now, like he was getting lost in those memories. "Not having my dad around really didn't help much either," He added.

"What happened?" I ask.

"Died in World War One, couple months before I was born" He says. "Mustard gas," He adds.

"...sorry," I say a bit quieter.

"You're fine," He laughed slightly and patted my leg that was a few inches from him. "Anyway," He swallowed. "You obviously know about Bucky," He says, his smile going away briefly as he glanced at me and I look away briefly before I nod. "And he was-... Well, he was my family other than my mom." He sums up. "We did pretty much everything together," He smiled to himself and got quiet for a few seconds. I just waited patiently before he continued. "He knew that I had never been to the movies before so he told me to start saving up what little allowance I had and Bucky managed a part time job for a while and started to put some aside."

"How much did movies cost?" I ask curiously. He looked at me before smiling slightly.

"Back then? Gosh, probably about 24 cents a ticket," He says with his eyebrows furrowed as he was trying to remember.

"24 CENTS?!" I blurt out. "Why couldn't I live back then?" I mumble and he laughs.

"Well then, I wouldn't of had the pleasure of taking care of you," He smiles and I roll my eyes.

"How much was a minimum wage?" I ask. He thinks for a moment.

"I think Bucky was paid 30 cents an hour?" He says slowly.

"Wow. Yep. Never mind, I'm good here in the 21st century thank you very much," I state and he laughed.

"Alright, let me finish the story so you can get to bed," He says. I roll my eyes before nodding. "It took some time, but we eventually managed to get enough to buy tickets and candy for the movie,"

"How old were you?" I but in again. He turns a look on me and I laugh. "Just curious!"

"So many questions," He mumbles amusingly. "I don't know... 19 maybe?" He says. "Bucky was 20 so yeah, I was 19," he confirms. I nod as he continued.

"We didn't get the best seats; they were in the very back, so it was harder to see. But we didn't really care," He smiled to himself. I found myself smiling too. There was something different about him when he talked about his life before getting- well- frozen. He just seemed so... Relaxed and comfortable, happy too obviously.

"More than halfway through the movie though I got sick, so Bucky took me out of the theater," He laughs at the end.

"So you didn't get to finish it?" I ask slowly. He shakes his head.

"Nope," He laughed. "Still have no idea what happened after she bit the apple," He laughed some more.

"We need to finish it then," I state. "Well- after we see a movie tomorrow that is" I add. He nods before smiling.

"Alright, we will see a movie tomorrow" He agrees. "If I can afford it," He adds and I laugh before nodding. "We're a bit broke at the moment," He adds with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but Tony isn't" I state before giggling.

"That is very true" He agrees before leaning over to kiss my forehead. "Alright- you need to get in bed it's late," He say before standing up.

"The first movie I saw was when I was little and it was Monsters Inc... But apparently I only ran up and down the isles the whole thing so I didn't really pay attention," I add and he laughs.

"That seems about right," he smirked and i huff before rolling my eyes.

"That was the last movie you saw?" I question again. He looked at me for a moment and opened his mouth before hesitating and closing it.

"Well," He stopped for a moment and scratched the back of his head. I slowly raised an eyebrow as I waited for his response before he chuckled a bit. "Ok I take that back, I did go to a movie in-... 41 I think, maybe it was 42, but I didn't get past the previews of it," He says with a bit of a confused smile. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Why...?" I ask slowly. "Did you get sick again?"

"No, that time it was more of a friendly dispute," He says carefully. I narrowed my eyes at him for a moment before I felt myself smile.

"Did you pick a fight with someone?" I almost deadpan. He looked at me with sudden confusion.

"How did you-"

"Dad, I think I know you well enough now to know you liked picking fights," I laugh and pull my covers up and he huffs.

"Ok fine, you're right," He breathes a laugh.

"Knew it!" I laugh.

"Ok ok," he says and starts to back up. "No more questions, it's time for bed," Dad laughs. I watched him walk for the door as I spoke up.

"Can we do it again tomorrow night?" I ask as he reached the door. He turned with a sigh and gave me a confused look.

"Do what?"

"You telling stories," I reply. "I like hearing about then," I add. "I-If you're comfortable talking about them," I add quickly.

"No! No, its fine," He says quickly. "Yeah, we can do that. I'll start thinking of some" He smiled and chuckled.

"Ok," I smile and hug my covers.

"Night," He smiled before turning off the light.

"Love you," I call over before turning into my side and yawned.

"Love you too, Kate," He smiled before closing the door to a crack.

I waited a few seconds and heard footsteps walk down the hall and I slowly reached for my phone again before snatching it off the charger. Bringing it closer to my face I tapped the passcode in before going back to the story I was reading.

Only a few sentences lef-

"Kate!" I literally almost jumped from the bed when I quickly looked at the door seeing Dad eyeing me. Shit! Damn I was so close.

"What did I say?" He asked somewhat sternly but I could still see evidence of a smile on his face.

"No- I was just, it's not what it looks like," I say quickly and look back at my phone. My eyes skimmed the words on the screen and I could feel his gaze burning into the side of my head. "Ok, I'm good now" I smile as I finished the chapter and placed my phone back on the nightstand and plugged it in.

He eyed me for a few more seconds and I smile.

"You good?" He deadpanned.

"Yep!" I laugh. He rolls his eyes before smiling.

"Go to sleep!" He laughs before going to close the door.

"Wait!" I call and he stopped. "Earlier today when I asked you about Bucky, you never finished what you were gonna say" I tell him. I immediately saw his face drop and he quickly looked down before back at me. I waited for his answer and tried to smile a little. He then smiled back.

'"What about it?" He asked. I look at him for a moment.

"I asked if you were look for him" I say. He looked at me for a long while before smiling and shaking his head.

"No," He says. "I'm not looking for him," He says before giving me a very small smile. I felt a wave of anxiety leave me in that instant and I smile.

"Ok, just checking" I laugh slightly. He gave a small nod before smiling reassuringly.

"Night," He says in a much quieter voice and began to close the door slightly.

"Night dad," I call back and heard his footsteps begin to dissipate until I could no longer here them.

…

Steve walked down the hall and his footsteps slowly got slower and quieter until he stopped and leaned his back against the hallway wall. His eyes went to the ceiling for a moment and he closed his eyes as he let out a long breath.

"Damn it Rogers, what did you just do" He mumbled to himself before rubbing his face with both hands. Quickly pushing the thought aside he quickly started to walk down the hall and to the elevator. As he got in he pushed the button for the gym floor. Punching bags with definitely solve the problem.

…

I stared at the ceiling for a long moment and my smile faded a bit.

Would he really give up that soon? Bucky saved him, and he knew that….. I guess he decided against it considering how dangerous that could end up. Thankfully he isn't or else someone else could get hurt.

I finally sigh and smile to myself, feeling more relaxed now that I know the truth, before I let my eyes close.

**End of chapter! Hope you liked it :) And now about those future possibilities and reader requests I received. **

**-The number one request I've gotten mostly over PM and sometimes through reviews, a lot of people want me to put Bucky in the story (and change the MCU around a bit) I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about this! BUT! Since Civil War is pretty much a month away I may just wait until then to decide what exactly I can do about putting Bucky in the story earlier. Because I'm not gonna lie- I've written a lot with him in the story already (behind the scenes secret stuff *wink wink*) and I really would love to explore the character more, especially how he and Kate would interact after everything.**

**-The second is a request from an anonymous review. I will go ahead and summarize the idea if you have not already seen it in the reviews. So the idea was that Kate has a family member still alive, preferably an aunt, and an incident takes place where Kate gets hurt or has some kind of (maybe allergic?) reaction- Steve flips- Clint thinks she spends too much time in the Hospital. This aunt (we'll just say aunt from now on) was out of country and comes back to the states to find out her niece is still alive and plastered all over the news as "Captain America's daughter" and tracks them down to the hospital. This will eventually lead to a custody battle and Steve wants to fight for Kate but is worried, considering what he does as Captain America- and also starts to doubt himself as a good father that can keep Kate safe. Kate is a bit torn over the whole thing, but still wants to stay with Steve. Kate eventually convinces her aunt that Steve is more than capable and she wants to stay with him and such. Of course it's a happy ending. But would anyone be interested in this? **

**And this could either be in the actual story or a one shot for this story**

**QUICK THING TO ADD! Instead of Kate ending up in the hospital, I was thinking that maybe this could follow the events of Age of Ultron? And when the aunt comes back from some isolated country she has all this chaos blown up in her face. Thoughts?**

**Addressing all you readers: **_**THESE ARE JUST SOME IDEAS! NOT COMFIRMED YET AND I WANT YOUR ALLS APPROVAL! :)**_

**Ok! Review if you'd like, because I love hearing what you all think XD and please let me know about these ideas!**


	86. (sequel) Chapter 24

Chapter 86

**Next chapter comin at ya! :D Hope you guys enjoy, and also a big announcement:**

_**A Place to Call Home is officially on Archive of Our Own!**_

**I have an account on their now too. Also, the version of APtCH on that site is a little different; it's mostly the same, just a few tweaks in some of the chapters. But if you have an account there and would like to check it out, my account is the same name (horseluvr00). And you can check it out if you don't have an account too XD Not trying to exclude you from taking a peek.**

**ANYWAY! Please enjoy this chapter, and also if any of you remember way back when, when I said there would be a cross over with another Marvel hero in the MCU (he's actually in the MCU, just hasn't had any contact with the Avengers)… it's coming soon! Within the upcoming chapters, not too far away, so guess if you'd like, or don't XD **

**If any of you are curious… I will give you a tiny hint. This cross over will tie into the custody battle over Kate, this person will have something to contribute to that situation **_***hint hint***_**. Meaning I am confirming that the custody battle will indeed happen, but after Age of Ultron. I do not know whether it will be in this story or if it will be a oneshot off to the side. PLEASE, PLEASE let me know if it should be a one shot or in the actual story! I wanna make sure you guys have a say in that decision so don't be afraid to PM me or review to let me know ;) **

**(If it turns out to be a one shot it will not have a big effect on the actual story, it might be mentioned but it won't cause anything to change dramatically, just strengthening the father-daughter bond so obviously if it's a one shot it's gonna have a hell of a lot of fluff and cute family crap)**

**PS- Testing has been going on the last few weeks. It was hard to get over the writer's block, and all the studying stress. I also was working out the kinks on Archive of our Own. It's been an odd last few months, sorry guys **

**ANWAY!**

**Enjoy! Another PS- I saw Captain America Civil War and I will express my excitement and how I got over all that damn writers block at the end of this chapter! :D**

Movie theaters. They're fun right? I mean, there's candy, popcorn, and sort-a comfy seating…. And outrageous prices. Now don't get me wrong, it can be worth it sometimes to get to see a movie you love on a giant screen. But the thing is I honestly couldn't care less about the price if we could just get inside.

"He's a 90 somethin year old man, have you no respect for the elderly!?" Darcy demanded.

…Yes, Darcy came along. Dad and I were about to leave and… well… She decided to tag along before Jane left and Thor went back to Asgard.

"Darce- this is the 5th theater you've done this at" Dad makes clear, his stance indicating he was about ready to snap. We had visited several theaters today and Darcy was adamant to find one that would give Dad a senior's discount.

"He's an American icon! Look at this physique!" She says and grabbed the hem of his shirt to pull it up and his hand immediately shot down and grabbed her wrist before pulling it away from his shirt.

"Hey!-" He snapped. If looks could kill…

She huffed and rolled her eyes before slaps his stomach lightly with the back of her hand and Dad immediately tensed. "Well- the abs are there, don't worry," She rolls her eyes before looking back to the man. I put a hand over my mouth to make sure I didn't laugh. He sent me a warning look and I chew my bottom lip in hopes not to smile, but it was honestly hard not to at the moment.

"Darcy-" Dad says a little more firmly.

"Shut it Cap, let me work my magic" She says back to him before leaning forward onto the stand where the ticket seller was inside. "He's Military! He gets a discount" She says with a narrow of her eyes.

We were silent for a moment as Darcy, Dad, and I were waiting for the man in the booth to say something. He sighed and pushed his glasses back up onto his face before looking out, his eyes going over to Dad as he looked him over.

"Let me see some identification so that we can give him the discount," He says with a sigh as if he was getting tired of us. We have kinda been here for almost 15 minutes now.

"You want some identification? Here's your god damn identification," She says and pulls out her phone. I furrow my eyebrows and watch as she pulled up her photos and started scrolling. She eventually pulled up one where it was Dad, Darcy, and Natasha they were in their suits and Darcy was using her thumbs to point behind her at them. I remember when she took that picture; it was a few days before we left for DC and Dad and Natasha had just gotten back from a mission. Darcy wanted a picture and Natasha couldn't have cared less, Dad on the other hand just wanted to take a shower and go to bed. But Tony made him stay, so in the picture Natasha was on Darcy's left, her left hand on the gun on her hip, she was smirking, and Dad was to her right with his arms crossed and his shield on his back. He was glaring at the camera the whole time.

I chuckle slightly as she turned to show the man the picture.

He was looking at his computer and about 10 seconds went by before he sighed and slowly looked over, squinting slightly. His eyes widened at the image but once he looked at Dad he raised a bit of an eyebrow. Darcy and I looked and him and she sighed.

"Take this god damn disguise off, you're not gonna get mugged in the streets" She says and swipes the hat from him head while I plucked off his nerd glasses. The look he sent the two of us seriously made me freeze for a moment but I was having too much fun to really care at the time.

I look back at Dad and laugh when I realize he had his arms crossed and the glare on his face could have murdered, I'm not joking. He seriously looked like he was trying to recreate that picture, even though I know he wasn't.

"Oh-" The man swallowed and now eyed him warily. "Seems you are, uh- Military, I'll just…" He says quickly and I think he was intimidated by the look Dad was giving pretty much everyone at the moment. "Change that…" He says as he changed the price. The adult tickets had been $15.50 each while Military discount was only $10.00. "There," He gives a nervous smile before handing us our tickets and Dad quickly pushed through and gratefully took them.

"Great, thank you. Sorry for the hold up," He says, sending a look to Darcy.

"I got you a discount, don't give me that look" She says with a proud smirk and I snort before laughing.

"Anything for an Avenger," He says before giving a little nod and Dad gave a nod in return before we quickly walked inside.

We were seeing the Minions movie. Darcy and I wanted to see the movie SPY… but Bruce let Dad know what was in that movie and he immediately made it clear we were _not _seeing that.

"Ok, Kate- you and Darcy get in line for food, I'll go get us seats alright?" He says, looking at me. I shrug a reply and he looks to Darcy before looking at me.

"Do you want anything?" I ask, stuffing my hands into my pockets.

"Oh uh… starburst jellybeans" He says with a shrug and a smile. I laugh and nod before turning to Darcy.

"I'll get you something red white and blue, don't worry" She says and gives him a little salute before turning to walk away. I laugh a bit louder and caught Dad biting his lip aggravatingly before he huffed and turned to walk towards the other side where the theaters were.

Darcy and I got into a line for popcorn and I looked towards the rack of candy.

"I got the jellies" I say to Darcy and walk towards them.

"I bet they'll combine the slushies to make a red, white, and blue one" She says with a proud grin. I shrug in reply after grabbing a bag, throwing it onto the counter as we were up next.

~0~

After seeing the movie we all headed back to the tower. Dad liked it… I think. He was a little confused at first but I gave him the run down of the Despicable Me movies so he kinda understood what was happening.

"How was it?" Pepper called from the living room as we walked out of the elevator.

"It was good," Dad smiles. "Funny movie"

"Not as funny as trying to find a theater" I mumble to myself with a chuckle.

"Kate, don't even start with me right now" Dad says sternly and looked almost ticked off for a moment but I quickly realized that he was just hiding a smile.

"But it was!" I argue with a laugh and fall back onto the couch.

"What was?" Clint asked as he entered the room through the stairwell.

"We visited about 5 or so theaters before Darcy found one that would give dad a discount" I explain quickly and suddenly feel a light smack on the back of my head.

"Wha-? Ow!" I whine and see Dad point at me with a slightly threatening look.

"What kind of discount?" Clint after snorting a laugh.

"A senior's one" Darcy answers before Dad could cut her off.

"We had to settle for a Military discount though" I shrug and suddenly felt a shadow looming over me and I squirmed lower into the couch when someone began tickling me. "Stahp! Ok! I'm sorry!" I yell and laugh before rolling to the side slightly and flinched when I felt my bandage rub the wrong way along my wound which was still there obviously. Dad stopped a few seconds later and kissed the top of my head before leaning over the couch, where he was currently standing.

"How did the guy react?" Clint chuckled as he sat down on the other couch next to Pepper.

"He looked very embarrassed that he turned an avenger and a senior citizen down several times after I should him a pic of him in the Cap suit" Darcy says and I nod in reply.

"I'd like to know more about the movie" Pepper says amusingly and I knew she noticed Dad was getting ticked off again.

"It was really funny" Dad smiled. "Can't wait to watch the other movies"

"Despicable Me 1 and 2" I clarify and Pepper nods.

"We probably have it on the TV somewhere" She says with a sigh. Because honestly, I don't think there is a movie that Tony doesn't own.

"Can we watch one now?" I ask, letting my head fall back against the couch as I look up at him. He looks down with a smile and shrugs.

"Sure, why not" He smiled. "But later we need to do some PT" He says, a bit of sternness in his voice and I nod a reply as I picked up the remote and turned the TV on.

"Steve," I look over the couch rim behind me and see Sam walking in and over to us. Dad turned to him as he walked over. "Found something," He says and nods behind him, in other words he wanted him to leave the room.

"Alright, can it wait an hour?" Dad asks, and I felt a little bit of happiness perk at me that he actually was going to make mission stuff wait. But it also made me a little guilty that I was being an attention hog.

Sam huffs before nodding to the side for him to come over. He didn't hesitate to walk away from the couch and meet up with Sam in the kitchen. I watched them briefly, everyone else had gone back to doing whatever it was they were doing and the TV was now background noise, a random kids channel playing.

I heard Sam mumble something, I couldn't make it out, and Dad tensed a bit as he did so and he turned his eyes to look at him. Sam only nodded in reply and Dad said something else before he turned back to me and Sam turned to leave.

"What was that about?" I ask as Dad was heading towards me. I glance at Sam as he walks into the elevator and he gave me a small smile and a nod as he waited with the doors open. I stood up and walked over to the other side of the couch as Dad slowed in the middle of the floor, his body slightly turned towards the elevator.

"Sam found some leads on an ex-hydra agent" Dad says to me. I perk up a bit and nod.

"Cool, so how are we going to-" I started to walk towards the elevator, knowing we were most likely leaving now when he put a hand out to stop me and I froze a bit.

No. He better not say it.

"Kate, you're not coming on this one" He says a bit quieter, before turning his head to look at me. I felt my shoulders slump as I breathed out sharply before glaring up at him.

"Again?" I state, my voice a little firmer than it originally was. He clenched his jaw slightly and looked at the ground before his eyes circled towards the elevator door where Sam was currently waiting.

"Kate this is different," He says, his voice still a little quieter. "I know last time I told you that it wasn't a big deal and that we'd be fine and back within 48 hours-"

"And look where we are now" I snap, crossing my arms before looking down at my feet, him now standing in front of me.

"I know, I know" He says with a huff. "We weren't prepared that time. This is a much better lead and it's in a friendly zone" He says. I glance up at him briefly before looking back down. By the look on his face it was almost as if he was looking for my approval but I didn't say anything.

"'A friendly zone." I state, still eyeing the ground before my gaze shot to the side.

"Yeah Kate. No danger and it should only take 36 hours"

"And here we are, I'm the one with the almost healed gunshot wound and you're the one with the shattered leg" I mumble.

"It was healed this morning" Dad states.

"Jesus Christ, whatever! You get what I'm saying!" I was mumbling but by the end I was shouting and I heard Pepper stop typing on her keyboard.

"Kate I have a serum that allows me to have an accelerated healing rate. You don't" He says a little bit louder than he had been talking but not as loud as me shouting.

"And that's supposed to mean what to me?" I demand. "I didn't see that accelerated healing rate doing shit for you back in Washington" I snap and he looked like he flinched a bit at that before he clenched his jaw and glanced at the door where Sam was still waiting before he looked down at me.

I clench my jaw before looking back down at my feet. When he was quiet once again I glance up at him before looking to the side and then back at him.

"What do you want, my approval?" I ask sharply. "Are you leaving or not" I gesture to Sam before walking past him.

"Kate-" I heard him behind me but I was already heading down the stairs.

~0~

_Bang_

_Bang_

_Bang_

My finger continuously pulled back on the trigger of the handgun I was currently holding as I watched the holes appear in the moving targets about 20 yards away. They continued to move back and forth with random patterns as I shot them all down one by one before they all slowly lower to the floor and there was a beep before I heard Jarvis' voice overhead.

"_Total targets: 18, targets shot: 18, would you like to go another round Kate?_" He asked. I made him call me Kate instead of doing the whole last name thing.

"Yeah Jarvis, switch them out please"

"Jarvis, don't just yet" I heard a voice; Dad's voice and I chewed my lip to keep from snapping at him.

"Jarvis. Switch them out." I make clear, my voice more hostile as I was still holding the gun in my left hand.

"_I am sorry Kate, but I must obey Captain Rogers' orders, they outrank yours._"

"Thanks Jar." I say through clenched teeth.

"_I apologize, it is not personal,_" At least he's got manners.

"Kate we need to talk," I heard him behind me. I gripped my gun tighter before my finger switched the safety on and I tossed it onto the table in front of me. I turned around to say something when the words died in my throat and I stared at him for a few seconds.

"…..What are you wearing" I state, a little bit of question in my voice. He was looking at me seriously with his hands rested on his belt when he realized I had asked about the suit he was wearing and he looked down at himself before looking back up at me.

"Oh uh, Stark's doing; said I needed an upgrade" He explains. I just look at him a little longer before nodding a little.

It wasn't at all like his original suit, the red white and blue *cough* spandex. It had more of the stealth suit kind of feel but overall looked different from both.

"Odd thing to be wearing in a friendly zone" I state before turning back to the table as I took out the empty magazine and picked up a full one.

"There's a problem," He starts. "Apparently when SHIELD collapsed Hydra got ahold of Loki's scepter" He says and I stiffen a bit as I was cleaning off one of my older guns, not the one I had been using. "Sam and I are going to meet up with Fury tonight to get some Intel before heading off on our lead"

"So you're meeting up with Fury to get info on the scepter… and then doing what you originally were planning on doing" I say, somewhat to clarify.

"Can you turn to face me please?" He asks, not confirming my question and I huff before placing the gun down as I turned. I let myself lean back against the table for support as I crossed my arms.

"We need to talk" He says lower. I just continue to look at him and don't say anything.

"Yeah, you said that already" I finally state.

"Do you know what about?" He asks, seeing if I would give him a little more information.

"Yeah. I know exactly what you came down here to talk about." I state and his expression changed and I think he thought I was being literal. "You want an opinion on the new and improved stars and stripes am I right?" I question before walking over to where I had my duffle bag on a bench about 10 feet to my right against the wall.

"Kate!" He says sternly.

"I'd give it about an 8/10" I shrug as I sat down and took a swig of my water. "Could use a little more colo-"

"We need to talk about what happened in DC" He makes clear and the words died in my throat again as I looked up at him without thinking. I just stared at him, trying to hide the worry before I quickly averted my eyes and looked down.

Shit. This exactly what I wanted to avoid.

"What about DC" I mumble, not looking up at him, my water bottle now sitting on the ground.

"You know what, Kate" He says right back and he didn't sound mad, more so like he was forcing himself to question me about this. He didn't sound like he wanted to talk about it but he was making himself ask.

My eyes were quickly shooting around the floor and I could feel my heart start to beat harder and faster. What if he asks about when I found him? Or-

"I need to know the truth about something. It's just one question and I need an honest answer" He says a bit quieter. I slowly look up at him and bite somewhat hard on my bottom lip. "Can you do that?" He asks and I hesitate before nodding. I didn't even give it a second thought as I nodded, damn it.

"… Do you blame me for what happened in DC?" Dad asks and I continued to stare at him before I slowly furrowed my eyebrows.

"W-…What?" I get out, looking at him. Did he- Did he just ask me that? He's kidding right?! Jesus freaking Christ he's being serious!

"Kate do you blame me for what happened in DC. On the carrier" He asks again and he looked serious but also had care in his eyes. He didn't look guilty at all just like he was calmly asking me any random question. There was sadness in his eyes though that as the seconds past, I started to notice more.

"Are you being serious?" I ask seriously, my voice almost hostile. His gaze he had pinned on my faltered a bit and he glanced down briefly. "After _everything_ that happened that day and you wanna know if I blame y-!"

"Yes Kate, I do!" He finally says louder. "I do wanna know if you blame me for what happened. Every opportunity you get, you bring it up and I know I messed up ok? I did, I was selfish trying to get to Bucky- I wanted to have him back because he was family." He says, his voice had gotten louder and I just listened to him speak.

"Back in the 40's after my mom died he was all I had, and I let that control my judgement. The only family I'll ever need is sitting right in front of me, but for some reason that didn't feel like enough at the time" He says. I didn't even say anything. I hadn't realized that's the reason he stayed behind but I honestly didn't care about the reason. Something started bubbling inside me and I suddenly snapped out of nowhere.

"You think I blame _you_ for that?!" I yell at him. He was still standing in front of me and I was sitting on the bench.

"I don't know Kate, that's what I'm asking you" Dad says and I almost laugh before looking down and around. "Do you blame Bucky? Fury? Hydra? Who is it?"

"Why do you think I blame someone for this!?" I demand, getting offended. "Since when did I ever say to your face that I blamed someone!?"

"You don't need to say anything Kate, I can see it on your face" He made clear. "If I'm the problem Kate I really need you to tell me. I'm trying the best that I can here-"

"I know you are Dad! I know you're doing everything you can!" I yell back. I hadn't even noticed until now that my eyes were burning. Maybe there was a draft in the room, perhaps the AC came one.

"So tell me Kate! What did I do wrong?!" He asks and looked confused, frustrated and anxious for an answer. "What part of what happened that day do you blame me for?!"

"I don't blame you, I blame myself!" I finally yell at him. He opened his mouth to say something back when he froze and looked at me with his mouth slightly ajar.

Shit. I just said that. Out loud.

"….Kate- what do you- what er you saying…." He was talking quietly and he looked really confused and almost hurt by what I just said.

I averted my eyes and blinked several times as they began to tear up and he knelt down in front of me.

"Kate," He said quietly and I quickly looked down as a tear slipped and I hoped that he hadn't seen it but seconds later he cupped my face and rubbed the tears from my cheeks as they one by one started to fall from my eyes. "You… You can't mean that" He says.

"If I ha-ad been there in the first place then you w-wouldn't have gotten shot" I say my voice cracked several times and I was crying now.

"Oh god- Kate" He breathed before pulling me into a hug and I wrapped my arms around his neck before burying my face into his shoulder. "How could you believe that. None of that was you're fault honey, don't you dare think that" He makes clear and I could tell by how he was saying it quickly he was getting a little emotional.

"I didn't do anything though" I tell him, feeling a warm tear slide down my cheek and hit the strap over his shoulder of his suit. "If I was paying the least bit attention I could've helped-" I didn't finish as he pulled me out of the hug.

"You listen to me right now. Everything that happened in DC when SHIELD fell- none of it was your fault." He makes clear and I looked down to avoid his eyes. "I was the one that tried to get through to Buck, I got myself shot, and I also was the one that allowed him to beat my face into a pulp," He says and I felt myself grimace a bit when I remembered how I had found him.

"But I-"

"No" He cuts me off and he almost looked a little mad. Not at me but-…. At himself.

I got quiet and sniffled in a breath before looking down again.

"All this time, why didn't you say anything to me?" The hurt look on his face made me feel guilty as he asked the question.

"No matter whose fault it was I knew you wouldn't let me take the blame for it" I mumble, still looking at the ground.

"Because none of it was your fault Kate" He makes clear. "Either way, if you had stayed back at the damn like you were supposed to," He smiles a little and I try to but pretty much fail. "Not much would have changed… I most likely would have done the same things I did that day-"

"But I could have stopped him from shooting you several times at least" I but in. "Or from bashing your face in with his metal fist" I add, getting a little angry again.

"Can't believe he had the guts to even be in Canada" I mumble and he looked up at me at that, furrowing his eyebrows slightly.

I could see the gears turning away in his head when I gave him a small glance and it got quiet for a minute or so.

"… Why do you think he was there?" Was what left his mouth and I slowly looked up at him.

"In Canada?" I ask slowly, almost hesitantly hoping that that hadn't been what he asked. Dad nodded in reply, still kneeling in front of me and I look down at my shoes before shrugging my shoulders. "I dunno"

"Do you think he was-… Possibly trying to help?" He asks and I blink a few times before shrugging again.

"I don't know Dad. He probably was just taking out some of the assholes that completely destroyed his life" I state. "That's what I would do" I add in a mumble, not seeing the way he had been eyeing me. "Shouldn't you be leaving or something?" I ask, trying to speed the conversation along.

I really disliked crying. Mostly in front of people. And Dad really has a way of making me break which really sucks. Whenever we have talks such as this one they're usually really emotional and involve torture, hurt, and/or death. We usually don't mind sharing too much either, on some of the occasions at least… Family goals am I right? Sarcasm is amazing.

"You sure you'll be ok on your own?" He asks quietly and I suddenly laugh at his question.

"Uh- Yeah dad, I think I'll be fine" I say with a laugh. He nods after a few seconds before looking to the gym down and then back at me.

"C'mon here" He says, waving me towards him as he stood up straight. I caught the small smile forming on his lips as I slowly stood from the bench and walked into his arms as he hugged me. "What would I do without you huh?" He asked with a small chuckle.

"Honestly? I think you'd have you ass handed to more than enough times" I shrug in reply and he laughs.

"Probably" He sighs before resting his head on mine. I blink a couple times as his hug grew bit tighter. He likes to hug. Sometimes he gives quick, light hugs and other times he almost squeezes the life out of me.

"Be careful while I'm gone ok?" He makes sure to add and uses his other hand to gently coax me to let my head rest against him as he kissed the top of it.

"No promises" I state and I think he just let out a small huff. He was still holding my head close to him, his other arm still around me in a hug. I just closed my eyes as I was snug in his embrace. He gives good hugs believe it or not. Some might think otherwise but he seriously does.

After he pulled out of the hug with a sigh he did his best to smile and I gave him a brief smile in return.

"I love you" His smile widened. I hesitate before looking up at him and I gave him a smile and I nod in acknowledgment. He smiled before brushing the hair on my head aside to plant a kiss on my forehead.

"Love you too, Dad"

~0~

"She what!?" Sam shouted as they were walking down the street. They were currently in Germany for the lead they had dug up. After meeting up with Fury they went undercover on the outskirts of Berlin to see if they could find what they were looking for.

"She said she blamed herself" Steve repeats a little louder.

"How did you get her to tell you that?" Sam asked, curiously looking at Steve.

"… I thought she blamed me so I asked why. We started fighting and she told me she didn't blame me… That she blamed herself" Steve adds a little quieter at the end, his eyes on the ground as they were walking through a busy street. It was an old town, all neighboring folk and not really in the spot like. In other words, it was a good place to lay low when you're a wanted man.

"I thought something was off with the way she was acting" Sam says more to himself. "I knew she was having trouble getting past everything that happened but-… I don't know why it didn't occur to me that she was having trouble forgetting because she thought it was her fault." Sam says as he was looking down, thinking mostly out loud.

"What did you say to her?" Steve asked him, mostly out of curiosity.

"I didn't get a chance to really. Only that if she ever wanted to talk then I was more than happy to. This helps solve a lot of the problems back when you were still living in DC; the nightmares she had constantly" Sam says.

"You're saying she's afraid?" Steve asks, now eyeing him as they moved onto a sidewalk.

"More specifically afraid you'll die again on her watch" Sam says. "That's what makes the most sense at least"

Steve clenched his jaw as he looked around and breathed out through his nose before nodding to himself.

"That doesn't add up. She- She didn't say it was about that she said it was about-"

"What would you do if you found the only family you had left bleeding out on a riverbed and you couldn't do anything to help them." Sam says, raising an eyebrow. Steve clenched his jaw once again and huffed, looking around ahead almost as if he was avoiding the question. "And if matters couldn't get any worse, you got to watch as their heart literally stopped beating and you once again, couldn't do anything to prevent them from dying right in front of you-"

"I get it Sam" Steve says, not exactly thrilled to be having this conversation.

"Say your Kate, are you telling me you'd have no problem having that conversation with yourself" He asks, raising an eyebrow. Steve huffs and shakes his head.

"No, I probably wouldn't" He says quickly before looking down the street to their right. "It's down there" Steve nods before they continued.

They walked several dozen feet before they both slowed in front of an apartment building. Steve clenched his jaw with slight anxiety of what they might find as they both walked towards the door.

The stairs going up were old, rusted and the concrete had some cracks in it. A few people passed them on the stairs as they kept going up until they got to the final floor and Steve saw three doors, two of which were not in use, signs indicating they were not up for buy.

"Are you sure this is it?" Sam asks. "I knew it was in this building but I don't think it's the top floor, which seems pretty obvious."

"Sam, this is it. Bucky would know better than to pick a good cover over a safe one. The top floor allows a good defensive position. Several exits not to mention all top floors have fire escapes" Steve says before walking down to the last door in the short hall.

He raised a hand to knock when he stopped and huffed before lowering it. His eyes went down to the knob, seeing the door was open but not shut all the way.

With a steady hand he pushed the door open cautiously and walked inside. Sam's eyes, along with Steve's, drifted across the bare, empty room. Nothing filled it and the room looked worn and run down, not well taken care of.

"You sur-"

"Positive." Steve states somewhat firmly as he looked around. There was a small counter to the left, a sink and a fridge along with a small gas stove. Otherwise nothing else was in the room besides from a broken skeleton of a bed frame.

Steve let his eyes scan the apartment and his head jerked slightly to the left when he saw someone on the floor under the bed frame. He quickly walked towards it and knelt down before picking up the balled piece of paper. His hands gently pulled at the edges until the paper unfolded and he didn't need to squint at the scratchy handwriting, recognizing it immediately.

_Sargent James Buchanan Barnes 32557038_

_Sargent Barnes_

_Bucky Barnes_

_Buck_

Steve's eyes read through the names over and over until he stood up abruptly and looked around.

"He was here" Steve says quickly to Sam.

"That his" Sam nods to the paper. Steve nods, looking down at it again before looking back up and around the room.

"He's long gone. Probably left weeks ago" Steve breathes before looking at the ground. "Damn it" He scolded himself. As quick as they went down his eyes ventured back up and around the apartment before he headed for the door and they headed back down the stairs.

~0~

"Reach a little higher"

I grumble under my breath before making my hand go up higher in an uncomfortable angle. Unfortunately I was stuck doing Physical Therapy at the moment. Not exactly how I wanted to spend my afternoon but it has to be done apparently.

"That hurt?" Clint asked, I only nod with an unpleasant look on my face.

"It didn't tickle" I mutter before he let me drop my arm slowly.

"It's healing pretty quickly, you should be able to get back to sparring next week" He gives me a reassuring smile. I just nod before looking down.

I was currently sitting on a table in the PT room, just next to the weight lifting room and Clint was standing to my right. I was just finishing up the session.

"Until then what can I do?" I ask, looking up at him. Clint looks at me for a moment and looks around before smiling slightly.

"Cardio, minimum weight lifting, possibly some air punches, but no punching bag yet"

"Damn it" I mutter, looking down. I hate when the punching bag is off limits.

"I know, it sucks" He sighs before grabbing a clipboard on the table to my right. He picked up a pen and jotted something down. It was my PT notes that Doctor Cho wanted us to log so there were regular updates on my condition. "I've had more than enough of my share doing physical therapy exercises. Just make sure you do them all, don't slack off and it'll be over before you know it"

"We can only hope" I laugh and slowly stretch a little before huffing. "Tony give your suit an upgrade as well?"

"He did" Clint chuckled. "Suit itself is mostly the same, I got a jacket now and my bow and quiver got a nice upgrade"

"Sounds cool" I smile to myself and slide off the table slowly.

"Like your dad's new suit?" He asks, looking over at me as he clips the pen into the clipboard.

"He's had so many these days I just kinda run with whatever he's wearing" I shrug before heading for the door. I heard him laugh in response as he followed.

"Nice to know you support his suit evolution" He looked very amused. "I'm gonna go get these results to Doctor Cho"

"K, thanks" I say in reply and he smiles and nods, giving my shoulder a comforting squeeze before he walked down the hall towards the medical bay.

Once turned towards the elevator I began walking towards it, my hand slightly rubbing over the bandage. It was a little sore, no doubt about that. But like Clint says, as long as I do the PT exercises I should be healed pretty soon.

It had been about 24 hours since Dad and Sam left. I still didn't know anything about these Hydra leads Sam and my Dad had been investigating but it seemed a bit concerning how the only leads they go for they never end up finding anything for. Who or whatever they were after seemed to slip through their fingers quite a lot.

I also still felt awkward about our uh…. Fight/talk we had before he left. He wasn't supposed to know about that. Hell I never would have told him if he hadn't brought it up, I wasn't going to. It just kind of slipped out.

The one thing I regret most though was the fact that all this time he thought I blamed him for what happened. That part crushed me, just knowing all those times I brought it up he thought I was angry at him for it; that I blamed him.

I quickly shake my head to get out of my own thoughts as I was currently in the elevator and it was going up. I honestly didn't get much sleep the night before. A couple nightmares after I had been thinking about DC for the rest of the day. But it wasn't so much about Bu-… the Winter Soldier. It was more so about losing Dad. That was the part I blame myself for. He obviously wants me to believe that none of it was my fault but that's not something that he'll be able to change in my mind. He for one doesn't know what it was like being in my position.

I really hope for one that I won't have any episodes like I did back when Dad and I were temporarily in that hotel room. I had one when he wasn't there and the other-… I don't really know what happened that night. The night I shot my dad if you were curious. Someone was there. I was sure, but now I don't know what to think. It doesn't add up. And after Sam told me that I might have minor PTSD I decided to do a little researching into PTSD symptoms and such. Things like flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety are the most basic symptoms. Hallucinations: that was one that concerned me. Hostility is also a symptom, behaviorally of course. This brings me back to the time a week or so after Dad got out of the hospital, and on our first run since it happened I almost attacked a jogger that bumped dad. I honestly don't know what came over me there.

Once the doors opened I walked down the hall and headed towards my room. Our rooms were mostly the same… kind of the same. After the remodel of the Tower things were changed a bit. My room was bigger now. I had a walk in closet now instead of a small double-door closet. Honestly I'm just going to hide a lot of weapons and other stuff since I don't own _too _much clothing. I'm not big into shopping as you all know.

I walked down the hall, my arms now crossed firmly when I slowed next to Dad's door. Ours were still next to each other, just a little farther apart. I swallow and stare at the closed door for a few more seconds before I hesitantly took a few steps closer and grabbed the knob before turning it. I knew Jarvis was aware of me entering his room but I'm not really doing any harm so I trust he won't tattle tale on me. His room looked mostly the same but he had a big empty wall space near his bed now, next to his desk. I slowly walk further into the room and let myself slump down to sit on his bed that was tucked and made as it almost always is. It didn't take long for my eyes to venture over to the nightstand on my left and I slowly picked up the picture frame that was currently sitting there.

It was a picture of Dad and I. One taken long before the move to DC had been brought up. Back when everything as remotely normal. Knowing what I was really looking for I placed the frame back on the stand and pulled open the draw that was still housing a photograph of Bucky and my Dad during the war.

I picked the photo up and stared at it for a good long time. At first I thought I blamed him for all of this. Bucky, that is. The first couple days afterwards I was having trouble processing almost everything and I didn't really give myself a chance to _really_ except what had happened. But one thing I knew what that he had done things to contribute to the fall of SHIELD. What I was reminding myself of now was that he didn't have a choice. Which made me more angry. This kind of situation was making it hard for me to process how to proceed. I don't know how to be angry at, I don't know who to blame other than myself, and hell, I don't know who I should be protecting right now to be honest. There is really no sure way of knowing what side someone is on. All I know is that I'm on Dad's side, and everyone at the Tower. They're my team, and my family. So that's who I'm going to protect. And as far as Hydra goes, I'm gonna put all my fury into making sure they're wiped off the face of the god damn planet or they're put in jail for the rest of the miserable lives.

I quickly glanced at the picture once more before I carefully placed it back into the drawer and I closed it before getting up, leaving Dad's room to head for my own.

**Ok chapter…? :| Haven't updated in a while, feels a little awkward so sorry everyone if this chapter was lame. As you can see Sam and Steve are still on the search for Bucky and Kate is still unaware of it. Kate had a little confession time with Steve, and also had a PT session with Clint. She will be back on her feet soon, don't worry folks!**

**Big. News. **

_**I saw Captain America Civil War everyone!**_** By far one of my favorite movies ever now, and I'm not just talking Marvel. I mean like all movies! It was brilliantly thought out and the fight sequences were fantastic. Bucky buying fruit made me so god damn happy I can't even explain it right now. And Sam and Bucky's relationship is one of my favorites ever. Just saying :D. So without further ado: the big BIG news! **

_**CAPTAIN AMERICA CIVIL WAR WILL HAPPEN IN A PLACE TO CALL HOME!**_** YAY! Hope you guys are happy about that! Part of the reason it took so long for me to update this chapter was because I was having such a good god damn time writing stuff for it. PS! Little spoiler alert here, but writing with Kate and Bucky is really fun! :) This is Civil War related btw; I am going to keep it as similar as possible :) I think you guys will really like where I go with their interaction… I hope *nervous chuckle* **

**And as for all the guest reviews I got, thanks so much! I will see what I can do with the requests! **

**Hope you all liked this chapter! Again, really sorry about the lateness of the update. Please review if you have suggestions, tips, requests, or anything else I forgot to mention. Or if you just wanna say it was a good chapter… Not picky ;) **


	87. (sequel) Chapter 25

Chapter 87

**This one is up a quicker than the last one was! XD Again, sorry for how long that one took. It was pleasantly surprising that no one was out to hurt me for making all you readers wait so long!**

**So glad you guys liked the chapter! **

"_You actually said that to him?_" Sam states. I swallow and stare at my bed a little longer.

"Yeah, Sam" I say to her.

"_I never actually though you'd… you know,_"

"I didn't mean to say it, it just kind of…. Slipped out" I mutter. I hear her huff on the other end of the phone. Dad and Sam- Wilson obviously- were on their way back I think. Or at least they would be on the way back today.

"_How did he react?_" She asks, sounding a bit hesitant. I look down at my bed for a few moments before sighing.

"Made it pretty clear he didn't want me blaming myself"

"_You guys talk about the assassin at all?_" She asks. I furrowed my brow and opened my mouth to speak, hesitating for a moment.

"I mean, it was in the air if you know what I'm saying. But he wasn't the soul focus of the conversation"

"_He seems kinda important considering he was the one responsible,_"

"It wasn't entirely his fau- That isn't the point" I say quickly.

"_Isn't his fault- Kate that guy almost killed your dad. How is it not his fault?_" She asks a bit louder.

"It's complicated Sam. There's a lot more to it than that" I tell her, putting a hand through my hair. I heard a knock on my door and I look over a few seconds later as it opens and see Natasha. I furrow my eyebrows slightly before holding up a finger. She gave me a nod before backing out of the room, not fully closing the door but letting it hit the frame as she walked out.

"_What else could there be?_" She sounded a little concerned.

"You'd be surprised" I mutter. "After my dad gets back I'll explain it in detail"

"_You better,_" She mutters. "_Alright, I'll talk to you later_"

"Bye"

After ending the call I tossed my phone on the bed before getting to my feet. Walking out of my room I saw Natasha waiting in the hall.

"You ok?" She asks. My brow furrowed slightly and I slowly nod after some hesitation.

"Spectacular" I state. "Why, is there something wrong?" I ask, sounding a bit confused.

"No, Clint just told me I should help you with your Physical Therapy session today"

"Ugh" I roll my eyes and start to walk past her.

"Don't be so grumpy about it" She smiles as we walked down the hall. "Shouldn't be too much longer"

"What if I tried my own kind- of… therapy session" I say slowly, looking over at her hopefully. Natasha raised an eyebrow slightly and eyed me suspiciously.

Might as well and try to see if I can make this fun. Dad may not approve, but he actually seemed quite eager to make sure I was back on my feet soon.

"Explain" She crosses her arms and waits patiently.

"Doctor Cho said that I can shift as long as it's under supervision and I'm not doing anything drastic"

"And you want to do what?" She continues, eyeing my with her one eyebrow rose.

"I don't know" I admit. "Just, hang around. Not do anything specific"

"No training if you're going to be shifting" She responds, giving me a knowing look.

"Yes" I whisper, doing a fist pump. "I'll just get used to a different physical form and such"

"Nothing too big" Natasha warns before turning slightly. I nod in reply and watch her walk down the hall.

Searching my mind for something I hadn't shifted into before I finally came to a good conclusion. Smiling to myself I took a moment to breathe deeply and calm myself down to prevent any accidents from occurring. That would not be good.

I finally felt myself relax to the point where I started shifting.

~0~

"You sure?" Clint seemed a bit concerned. "Don't you think she should take is easy?"

"She shifted a couple days ago, I think she'll be fine" Natasha argues slightly. "I told her no training or extensive movement"

"Like that would stop someone like her" A smile found its way onto the archer's lips and Natasha just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. For having no biological relation to the guy, she's got Rogers' stubbornness" Tony confirms as he walked down the few stairs and back towards the pool table where Rhodes was waiting, a pool stick in hand. "I'm startin to think it just rubs off on her"

"Sure she doesn't get it from _all_ of you?" Rhodey chuckled and looks over at Tony who just gives him half a smile and a shrug. Although James Rhodes hadn't met Kate yet, he had heard enough from Tony and Pepper about her.

Seconds later, one of the stairwell doors was pushed open and a big cat trotted out and ran up the stairs and towards the couches.

"C'mon Rhodes, the only thing she's gonna inherit from me is my incredible genius" The smugness was clear in Tony's tone and Rhodes only rolled his eyes, not seeing the big cat glance at Clint and Natasha before running back down the stairs, stalking along the wall and up behind Rhodes before waiting next to him.

"Yeah well, let's just hope it isn't your winning personali- oh! - Jesus" He jumped when he looked down and saw a Mountain Lion standing next to him. The animal looked up at him, her eyes perking up with curious amusement.

"Get used to it man, she loves sneaking up on people" Clint laughs from the couch where he was organizing different arrow tips.

"Rhodey, this is Kate. Kate, Rhodey" Tony introduces. The big cat let out a low and friendly roar before resting her head on the table. Rhodey was leaning on his pool stick as Tony took a shot.

"Avenger in training I presume?" He asks and the cougar nodded in reply.

"Yeah, she wishes" Tony muttered and Kate narrowed her eyes and let out a low growl towards him. Stepping away from the pool table she trotted up the stairs and over to where Clint was.

"Here are the newer models" He says, holding up an arrow tip. She eyed it curiously before looking down at the others. "Know which ones the acid tip?" He asked. The cat eyed the weapon tips for a moment before she used her muzzle to nod to the one on the far right. "Correct" He laughed. "We'll make an archer out of you yet, kid"

"Sure that's the wisest thing?" Tony asked and Clint only rolled his eyes before flipping the arrow itself in his hand. It was quiet for a few seconds and the mountain lion was eyeing Clint's hands as he started screw some of the tips onto the arrows before her head shot up and she tensed.

"What is it, K?" Clint asks, looking over at her on his right. Natasha did as well and Tony did with a furrow of his eyebrows. Her ears jerked in a few different directions for several seconds before her head spun around to the elevator door. She ran down the stairs, keeping low to the ground with excitement and the door opened well before she made it over there, Steve and Sam emerging.

Once they came into view Kate's ears perked up, facing forward in a friendly manner as she sprinted the last three strides, jumped on Steve, much to Sam's amusement as he burst out laughing when Steve tensed and tried his best to stay still and not cause her to fall.

"Wha- Kate!" Steve raised his voice with a small laugh. She scrambled up and over him, letting herself hang over his shoulder with her one paw hanging down and the other front one supported on his shoulder, her back paws hanging behind her over his shoulder.

"Where's my welcome home?" Sam chuckled as he walked in and Kate let out a friendly growl that sounded somewhat like a 'hum' before she rested her head on top of Steve's and looked around.

"Barton, she found her perch" Tony stated, trying not to laugh when Steve sent him a glare, his right hand up and around the big cat to make sure she didn't fall off his right shoulder and his left hanging at his side.

The friendly hum grew louder into a growl as Kate narrowed her eyes at him.

"Kate. What part of take it easy did you not hear from our last conversation" Steve said, trying to keep a light tone to his voice.

She only let out a small half roar in reply and jumped down from his shoulder before trotting over to where Sam was, standing next to Natasha. Kate's ears perked up as she saw the file Sam was holding. Curiosity got the best of her and she walked up behind him slowly, stalking up the stairs, she creeped up behind him before snatching the file in her mouth.

"Hey! Kate!" Sam shouted, whirling around to see Kate trotting away with the file loosely in her mouth. Steve turned away from Tony and Rhodey and quickly sent a warning glare in Kate's direction.

"We talked about this. Give it back" He made clear, his tone easily got more firm. The big cat slowed her pace and eyed him for a moment before glancing at the door. "No" He said a little louder and walked towards her. She backed up before running around him and jumped onto the edge of the pool table, dropping the file on the ledge before shifting back into her normal self.

"Can't be anything that crazy" Kate laughed, putting a hand through her hair before she picked the file folder up and spun it on her finger, still sitting on the edge of the table. Steve walked over and stopped in front of her before holding a hand out.

"Believe it or not there might actually be some things that'll still surprise you. It's nothing important" He says before nodding to her to give him the file.

"If it's not important than why can't I see?" Her shoulders slumped slightly when he didn't let up and continued to demand the file back.

"Kate" His tone indicated that the discussion was over. Kate finally breathed out through her nose with a huff and reluctantly handed over the file. Steve quickly snatched it before smiling.

"Thank you honey" He kissed her forehead and Kate only rolled her eyes slightly before shifting back into a cougar and grumbled in a half assed roar as to say 'whatever' and stalked off towards the stairwell.

"Someone's grumpy now" Tony added and Kate roared back at him with a snarl before nudging the door open.

"Told you she gets his stubbornness from him" Tony grumbled and looked over at Rhodes.

"Hey" Steve said warningly and Tony only rolled his eyes and mumbled a 'your turn' to Rhodey.

~0~

I felt my ears flatten when I heard footsteps coming closer. The louder they got the more tense I became until I saw someone stop below the vent cover I was looking through and I heard him sigh.

"C'mon Kate. Out of the vents" Dad says, looking up, his eyes meeting mine. I roar low in my throat, drawing it out into a hesitant growl. "Now" He adds a bit firmly. I grumble before hooking my claws into the vent cover, pulling it up, I nudged it aside with my muzzle before jumping down onto the floor in front of him, turning and sitting on my haunches with a growl like moan. "You know I don't want you looking at those files, Kate" He sighs, putting a hand through his hair as he looked down at me. My ears flatted along my head with a frustrated huff and small, short growl.

He eyed me for a few seconds before looking down the hall past me. I turned as well and saw Sam walked towards us.

"I'm gonna head out now" He says. Dad nodded and opened his mouth to add something and then hesitated.

"I have the rest of the files upstairs. I'll go ahead and grab them"

Sam gave him a nod before walking past us, giving me a small smile on the way before continuing. I automatically began walking when Dad did, keeping pace with his normally fast walking pace. I look up at him curiously, letting out a chirping like noise to get his attention.

"Sam's leaving for now, getting back to his place in DC" Dad explains as we walked into the elevator. I sat down to his right as he pressed the button for our floor where are rooms were. My ears adjusted, flicking in a few different directions before I hummed and looked down to the floor, using my front left paw to sweep along the shiny floor.

If Sam's leaving and going back home to DC, then my original thought would have been he finally wants to take a break from all of this stuff. But since he appears to be bringing a book worth of files with him, I guess he'll be doing otherwise. Perhaps doing a further investigation on his own of whatever it was they were looking into?

"You get into any trouble while we were gone?" He asks casually. I could tell by his tone that he was trying to get over the awkward silence. I narrow my eyes, looking up at him as my ears dropped. "Just curious" He laughed.

The door opened seconds later and we walked out and started down the hall.

"Did Jane and Darcy leave already?" I let out a grumble in reply before nodding as we got closer to his door. "Thor said he'd be back soon. He'll be helping us while we hunt down Loki's sce-" We had stopped at his door and I looked up at him curiously when the words died in his throat. My eyes followed the path of his eyes to his door. It was open a crack.

Damn it. I didn't close the door all the way.

Dad's eyes slowly went down to mine and I had been looking at him originally but quickly evaded his gaze and looked down at the ground.

He didn't say anything as he pushed the door open and walked inside, looking as if he shrugged it off. Although, he did look around briefly as he walked in. Kind of a habit I guess, over cautious.

He stopped on the right side of his bed and shrugged his jacket off before throwing it behind him. I hopped onto his bed and stretched out as I was now lying on my stomach, my paws even in front of me and my back legs out to my right as I was facing the headboard.

"Any problems while we were gone?" Dad asks. I turn to look at him and my ears shift slightly before I shake my head. I brought my paw up to my mouth and licked the top of it for a moment before letting out a groan as I stretched out, resting my head on my paws.

He knelt down on the floor and reached under the bed before dragging something out. My ears perked up slightly and I sat up before looking down over the side curiously, a few inches away from his head.

Dad slowly looked up, meeting my curious eyes and laughed.

"Don't you go snooping later," He makes clear. My eyes were now on the long box he pulled out. It was old looking, a leather chest with straps over the sides and two pad locks on it, keeping it closed. He pulled the key from his pocket and unlocked it before pulling the top up. I saw several stacks of files and old books. The files looked old as well.

My ears perked even more so as I tried to memorize what the files looked like. There was writing on the covers; several had Russian looking print on them.

He picked up a few of them, what looked like copies of the older looking ones before he placed them on the floor next to him. Before I could get another look he snapped the lid shut and put the pad locks back on.

I was still eyeing the chest as he pushed it under his bed and looked up at me. My ears perked forward in a friendly manner and I blinked twice before resting my head on my paws as I lied down.

"You're coming next mission, alright?" He says in a reassuring voice. I raised my head to look at him as he stood; the file in hand. My eyes caught the file, before rising to his eyes.

"No, not this" Dad laughed. "The mission for Loki's scepter" He corrects with a smile.

I grumble and lick my lips before slowly jumping off his bed. As I walked for the door I didn't hear his footsteps behind me and I slowly slow down before looking back over my left shoulder. He had pulled open his night stand drawer and was eyeing something in the top drawer. I knew it was the photograph of him and Bucky.

I noticed as he clenched his jaw and breathed out through his nose before his fingers picked up the image slowly.

My ears were twitching in different directions with nervousness and I shifted on my paws slightly before I turned to leave.

"Kate"

Damn it.

I slowly let out a quiet roar that ended in a hum like mumble as I slowly turned back around, looking up with hesitant eyes as my tail thrashed nervously behind me.

Dad placed the image back in the drawer before closing it and sat down on the bed as I took a few steps closer before resting on my back feet.

He looks down at his hands as he shuffled them slightly before he sighed.

"I know that you think… I'm not telling you everything" He starts, but he almost immediately hesitated to continue after that. My eyes were eyeing him somewhat with anxiety but also curiosity.

Why exactly was he starting this discussion? When I came in here yesterday and looked at the photo for a few brief minutes I did put it back, maybe I didn't make sure it was freaking perfectly placed in the drawer? Dad can be OCD like that sometimes. He places everything neatly and orderly so of course he would notice if it was moved slightly. And he would know it was me because-… well. He knows what I would do and snooping in his night stand is most likely something I would do, considering our different views on Bucky at the moment.

"And I won't lie, but… There are a few things I haven't been telling you" He says, looking over at me. I look down before swallowing, my paws shifting a bit again. "And although we may not see eye to eye on some of the things I've been keeping from you,"

I could tell he was trying to bend the truth in a sense that he won't be exposing what he doesn't want me to know but also doesn't want me worrying.

"The important part is that- What we're looking into doesn't involve anything dangerous" His eyes were on me, I could tell even though my eyes were on my paws. "That lead in Canada was a fluke. We won't be looking into anything else like that from now on,"

I grumble before jumping onto the bed next to him and stretched out so I was lying down, my front paws hanging off the side and my head resting on them. He was sitting to my left.

I just nod my head before my eyes flicked over to his night stand drawer again. I hopped off the bed and walked over to it before gently grasping the handle with my teeth, pulling it open. My eyes were now staring into the photograph before I roared and looked over at him. He was watching me the whole time until he stood up and took the few steps around me to see what I was looking at.

I noticed the confusion that was first on his face before his eyes met mine and followed where I was looking. It was a small book in the back of the drawer; his sketch book to be precise.

That thing had been through so much hell. It was the same one he had back in the 40's. It was still in good shape, surprisingly. It had sketches, notes, some fun stories that Dad had started writing in. It also had some notes back from the 40's, specifically him expressing how he originally did not see himself on tour while he wanted to be off fighting a war. When flipping through it I even found some sketches labeled 'uniform ideas' and some of them even looked like his original suit he had back during the war. He put everything in that book.

I look up at him and breathe out through my nose before hopping back onto the bed, making myself comfortable on the opposite side of it, the left side if you're looking forward from the foot of the bed. He was still standing and looking into the drawer before he slowly picked the book up and looked over at me.

Dad slowly held up the book, some question in his expression and my ears perked up in a friendly and excited manner before resting my head on my paws, my body turned somewhat with my back legs out to the right side.

He smiled slowly, his eyes on the book before he looked down at the files at the foot of the bed.

"Give me one second," He says, placing the sketch book down before picking up the file. "I'll run these down to Sam," He was flipping through the file. Kinda like he was making sure that everything was there. "And then we can-" He points to the book before giving me a smile.

Before we left for the movie theatre a couple days ago, I saw him flipping through his sketch book in his room that morning. I had walked in and sat next to him as he was staring at a drawing. It was a sketch of Coney Island. It had been quiet the whole time and I noticed the lasting smile on his face. He had suddenly just started talking about it. Telling me how when him and Bucky visited Coney Island, Bucky made him ride a lot of the rides. As much as he hadn't wanted to. He even told me he threw up on the Cyclone. He told me about that whole trip, a big smile plastered to his face the whole time. I hadn't seen him that happy in a while.

I knew that Dad understood what I meant when I had him retrieve the sketchbook just now. Most the drawings he could tell some kind of story with. When he drew it, why he drew it, it varied.

I blink a few times before roaring and stretching out, letting my head hit the mattress. He nods to himself before quickly exiting the room. My one ear perked up and I opened an eye to make sure he actually left. It took several seconds, and thanks to my advanced hearing I could tell when he entered the elevator and it began going down.

I quickly got to my feet and jumped off the bed before trotting around to the right side of the bed. I shifted back into my normal self before quickly pulling the chest out. I checked the pad locks before pulling a paper clip from my pocket. Always carry one with you! They can come in handy.

I bent it out so that it was straight before I started to pick each lock. My brow furrowed with determination as I worked. There was a prick of guilt working at me that I was doing this. I feel bad for doing it, and you might think of me as annoying and pushy, but I don't like not knowing. Especially when it's something he doesn't want me knowing about. With him trying to reassure me that it's all good and it's safe, then he's seriously trying to hide something, probably in fear that I will not be happy about it.

I finally picked the last lock before placing it aside, gripping the top before opening the chest. It had a familiar smell to it. Old; like it was worn in and definitely older and well used. It might even be an old chest that Dad had way back when. I mean- who knows? They saved a lot of his stuff.

My eyes almost immediately locked on the file to the right of three stacks. What looked like Russian lettering was on it. My hands were in my lap, feeling a bit shaky and hesitate to pick the thing up. I felt bad doing this. I want him to trust me, but I also kinda wished he didn't hide so much from me. He doesn't want me worrying about anything and that can sometimes stress me out more.

I slowly picked the file up and examined the cover for a moment. It looked like Russian lettering, but it wasn't a word I recognized at first. I don't remembering seeing anything like this when learning Russian at SHIELD. But this also could be something else, Cyrillic Russian possibly? Could be a code for something else?

With my brow furrowed I breathed out anxiously before I opened the file and stopped. My lips parted slightly at what I saw and my eyes immediately locked on the photograph.

James Buchanan Barnes.

God damn it.

I had a feeling too. It was something in the back of my mind, which I tried to put away. Even though dad told me after I asked him if he was looking for him, he obviously lied. I should have seen it too. Now that I think about it, back when he told me that, he was lying right to my face. Looking back I can see the way he said it, his eyes, I should have realized it but since he was saying exactly what I wanted to hear I didn't pay attention to detail.

My eyes drifted past the image of him in Cryostasis and I saw a small photograph paper-clipped at the bottom. Him in his military dress uniform, a slight smile on his face.

I don't feel mad either, damn it. It's not like any of this was Bucky's fault. I just wish Dad had trusted me in the first place with this. I know I gave him the impression that I would not be happy in any way if he was looking for the man who almost killed him. But now- seeing how much time he's put into this; I really can't bring myself to hold any of it against him.

My eyes drifted to the right side of the file where several papers were stacked and clipped to the file. Print, along with chicken scratch handwriting covered the pages as I grazed through them quickly.

Suddenly my head jerked to the side and I heard the elevator open. As quick as I could I placed the file back in, where it had originally been and slammed the chest shut, throwing the pad locks back on before I pushed it under the bed. I then jumped onto said bed and quickly picked up the sketch book, flipping through it to find something interesting.

My eyes met Dad's as he walked back in the room and smiled.

"What're you looking at?" I moved over so he could sit next to me. I shrug after a few seconds before flipping some more.

"Just flipping through" I reply as I hit the last page the inside of the back cover. I saw a small note written down inside it.

"What's this?" I look up at him with curiosity. He leaned over and as soon as his eyes met the page he smiled slightly.

"Buck gave me that, my 20th birthday" He explains. "As a joke. He thought I was going to be following a career in art"

"Did you go to school for it?" I ask curiously. He laughs and nods.

"For uh, about two years before I dropped out" His answer made me laugh before I looked a little closer at the note.

_Happy Birthday, punk. This is so you don't have to doodle on table napkins anymore. PS- I promise I'll get you some good pencils. On your next birthday, I promise. _

"Did he ever get you them?" I ask quietly, still eyeing the page. I heard him sigh after a few seconds.

"No. Things got complicated" Dad says, his voice a little lower. "Eventually when the US joined the war, Bucky enlisted-"

"And you tried" I laugh and he rolls his eyes.

"Several times" He corrects and shakes his head before breathing out again. "… Things got complicated"

I eyed the handwriting a bit longer before I slowly looked over at him, seeing he had been doing the same. But his gaze was much more zoned out than mine, somewhat lost in thought.

"There was one I saw," I clear my throat and see him blink a couple times before smiling and nodding. I flipped back several pages and came to one of a small diner.

"Oh, that one" Dad laughed, his expression warm as he eyed the sketch of the small building. "That place definitely has some memories"

"I wanna know" I give him a big smile before sitting back against the bed on the right side.

"You wanna know about this one?" He asks. "There's lots more I ca-"

"That one" I point and smile. He hesitated at first before he returned the smile and sighed before sitting back next to me, on the left side of the bed.

"Ok" He sighs before eyeing the page for a moment. "Some of what I'm about to tell you do not involve good decision making. Don't get any ideas" He makes clear, only to receive a laugh from me.

"No promises" He rolls his eyes before sitting up slightly, adjusting the pillows behind him. I waited patiently for him to get comfortable before he finally did and looked over at me.

"Come here" He lifted his right arm and I gladly snuggled into his side and rested my head against him.

"Don't fall asleep" He laughs before putting the book in his left hand.

"No promises there" I laugh before he draped his right arm over me to hold the book.

"Ok," He sighs for a moment before looking down at me and then the book.

"1934, my mom had a part time job as a waitress here" He begins. "Buck and I would sometimes run over before school and see what leftovers we could snatch in secret"

"Not even a minute in and you guys are already stealing food" I mutter, receiving a bop on the head with the book. "Just saying!" I laugh, seeing him roll his eyes.

"She only had the job for two years before she passed away, but Bucky and I always hung out there when we could. They had the best breakfast" He says further, glancing down when he saw me eyeing him. One of the best parts of him telling stories and such is watching his facial expressions. The looks he has you could never get out of him otherwise, part of the reason I like listening to him talk about his life before being frozen. Especially memories with Bucky. He always seems happiest sharing those and they are always the most fun to listen too.

I quickly let myself relaxed as I listened to him talk about all of the different memories at the diner. Most of them happy, a few funny, and one or two of them getting into trouble… Maybe more than one or two.

~0~

**An hour later… **

"Man did we get in trouble for that one" Steve laughed. "… It was worth it though" He sighed, eyeing the ceiling as he had his head rested back. It was quiet for several seconds and Steve realized it was much unlike Kate not to add some kind of amusing comment.

"Kate?" He lifted his head and felt himself tense a tad when he realized she was out cold against him. He breathed a laugh after a few seconds, eyeing her now sleeping form with amusement. "That's my girl" He smiled before sitting up just a few inches to readjust himself, making sure not to wake Kate up. As he did so his sketchbook slipped slightly and he quickly caught it before it fell off the bed.

His eyes lingered on the worn in cover briefly, examining it for a few moments. After some hesitation he opened it up before he began to look through the pages, rediscovering all that he had drawn in the book and the memories that came with them.

**Little shorter than I would have liked, but I hope you liked it everyone :) Keep in mind I did say I would make chapters longer, but I also said that it will also most likely take longer to update. I'm doing everything I can to make sure they are up as soon as possible though! **

**Small cameo coming up for a certain person in the MCU, I won't say when- just soon!**

**Please review if you liked it or have and questions or suggestions. **


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